Consequences - A Percy Jackson Medieval AU
by Unproductive-Fangirl
Summary: Percy never wanted to be a prince, but when did he ever get what he wanted? Percy's a prince, engaged to marry Princess Piper. Annabeth is the historian's daughter, Jason's a guard, Leo's a blacksmith, Hazel's a maid, and Frank's a stable boy. Forbidden love and adventures ensue. This story is completely written, I'm just posting it chapter by chapter, ideally on Sundays.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The boy in the mirror was nothing like the the one standing in front of it. As he looked at his own reflection he barely even recognized himself. The nice new clothing seemed to fit him perfectly in the mirror, but he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in them. Like an impostor. That's what he really was. The boy in the mirror looked so put together, so confident, and so regal, everything the boy standing in front of it wasn't.

Everything had happened so fast. The last few months had been a whirlwind of activity, and there hadn't really been any time for him to get his bearings. Now here he was, standing in front of a mirror, trying to figure out how the hell he had gotten here. Of course, he knew how. He had made a decision, and this was the result, but he hadn't been expecting everything to happen so quickly. And he hadn't been expecting to change so much.

His normally messy black hair looked strange, combed, with a golden crown sitting on top that, if nothing else, helped keep his hair in place. The blue tunic he wore seemed to bring out the green in his eyes more than the brown ones he was used to wearing. The fish on the center of the tunic was just stupid.

Everything came together to make the boy in the mirror a complete stranger to the one standing in front of it.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There was a knock on the door, and letting out a sigh, Percy pushed himself up. He wanted to put all of this off, but he knew he couldn't. The knock meant it was time, and stalling wouldn't make it go away. It would just annoy everyone.

Opening the door he wasn't surprised to see Jason standing on the other side. His father had a habit of sending him to get Percy instead of a messenger. Maybe he thought the fact that Jason was Percy's personal guard would make him more likely to actually go with him when he showed up.

Either way, Percy just smiled a bit at him and raised an eyebrow "Time to go?"

"I'm afraid so," His words were, as always, formal, but Percy didn't miss the small smile of understanding Jason gave him. "I am under orders to accompany you to the throne room where your father and many of his lords are waiting- along with a certain lady."

"Uh- yes, would hate to keep her waiting," Percy agreed, smiling a bit as he caught Jason's light smirk "Right, here we go."

"After you my lord." It was weird to have people his own age calling him 'my lord'. Sure it was weird to be called that in general, but when it came from very formal adults it somehow wasn't as surprising as when it came from someone his own age. Probably because he didn't think of them as being formal.

Of course, with Jason the title was used specifically to tease him, the slight smile still on the other boy's lips as he said it. Percy had told him pretty much the first day they met that when no one else was around to not worry about titles. It had taken Jason a little while to get used to it, but eventually he had gotten comfortable with it. So comfortable that he now wasn't afraid to tease him as well, something Percy was grateful for.

Soon enough they approached the great doors that lead to the throne room. The point of the doors had to be to intimidate people, as there was no practical reason that Percy could think of for having them that big or grand. When he had the choice he always took one of the side doors rather then the main one. Today he did not have the choice.

"Ready?" Jason asked, glancing over at Percy after a moment of waiting.

Taking a deep breath, Percy slowly nodded "Yeah, guess I am."

Jason nodded as well and moved forward. He spoke to the two guards that were on either side of the door, and they moved forward to open them. Percy watched, letting out his breath as he consciously straightened his back and tried to appear as regal as he could.

When the doors swung open he was meet with a room full of nobles, though not as full as he had seen it a few times in the past, namely his coronation as crowned prince. Still, there were a lot of them, and all of their eyes were focused on him. Trying to ignore the looks and the fan fair, Percy walked forward, holding his head as high he could, and doing his best not to clench and unclench his fists with nervous energy.

Despite the crowd around the hall, it was easy to spot the princess. A path had been left through the center of the room for him to walk down, and she was waiting at the end of it, looking back at Percy as he walked. She had clearly dressed up for the occasion, and though it was hard to see her face from where he stood he could make out the formal posture.

Percy did his best to walk slow and deliberate as he had been taught to do, but the longer that seemed to take the faster his steps became, feeling like he needed to hurry it along. His nerves weren't exactly calm, and the closer he got to the princess the more details he could see. The brown hair carefully pinned into place so it feel around her shoulders, and her eyes seemed to change color depending on how you looked at them. Percy had to admit she was beautiful, which did little to calm his nerves.

When he reached the end of the row, he took a deep breath, before bowing to the girl in front of him "Princess Piper, it is my pleasure to welcome you to my father's kingdom. I hope that your journey was pleasant and that you will enjoy your time here."

His words were stiff, and practiced. He had been told exactly what to say and had the words hammered into his head a few hours before. To his tutors dismay Percy hadn't been able to master the art of saying rehearsed words as if they were spontaneous yet, and they certainly didn't trust him to speak on his own, so slightly stiff words would have to do.

Luckily, the princess didn't seem to mind. Instead she just smiled at him and curtsied before speaking "My journey was long, but it was pleasant enough. I am sure that I will enjoy my time here and I am honored to be staying at the castle."

"Of course," Percy stated, than faltered. Fuck. The words had disappeared from his mind. He had no idea what was supposed to come next. Silently Percy cursed, and he could feel the eyes of the court watching him. His father's eyes. The longer he waited the more awkward the situation became and he could already feel the awkwardness starting to fill between them.

Finally, in a desperate attempt to fill the silence he found himself skipping ahead "I am sure you are tired from your trip. If you would like I would be happy to show you to your room so that you can rest and refresh yourself before dinner tonight."

For a moment Piper seemed taken aback, but it disappeared almost instantly, the smile returning to her face as she nodded in agreement "That would be lovely, thank you."

Returning the smile, Percy offered Piper his arm, his eyes flicking up to glance at his father for a moment. Swallowing he turned his attention back to the princess, leading her towards the main door at the end of the hall. There was a short walk past the many prying eyes of the court, and than they were out and the doors were swinging closed behind them.

As they left the hall Percy felt himself physically relax. Of course, he was still nervous being around the princess at all, but at least they weren't being watched by a bunch of random people. He was tempted to reach up and run a run a hand through his hair, but reminded himself just before he did that he was still wearing the stupid crown. Trying to run a hand through his hair would either look incredibly stupid, or make the crown crash to the floor. So instead he left his hand at his side, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking "I'm sorry about that. I know I skipped quite a bit of it, but events like that don't really tell us much about each other anyway."

Percy glanced over at Piper, trying to judge her reaction to this. To his relief, he saw a small smile play on her lips. In a slightly more relaxed voice, though still the regal accent of a noble, she replied "I think it's more about the nobles seeing that we've met than getting to know each other. Either way I was more than happy to skip most of it as well if I'm being honest."

"I'm glad," Percy smiled as he looked over at her for a moment, though it was still the charming smile from earlier. He was annoyingly aware of how different his accent was from her's, but he tried not to focus on that. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't offended or anything like that. I was under the impression one mixed up word could risk starting a war."

"Oh it could," Piper agreed, and to Percy's relief laughing a bit at the joke "But since you got me out of an extra five minutes of formality, I suppose I'll give you a pass just this once."

"I appreciate that," Percy laughed a bit himself, starting to relax a little more now. Piper seemed rather relaxed as well, and to his relief someone that he thought he probably could get along with, or at least had a similar sense of humor as.

The room that had been set up for the princes wasn't to far from the hall, and soon enough Percy was coming to a stop outside the door. He let her arm drop and turned so he was facing Piper, smiling at her as he spoke "This is where I leave you m'lady. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask or send someone to find me."

"Of course, thank you," Piper nodded, smiling at him as well, though she didn't move to open the door, as if she were still waiting for something.

It took a moment, but than it clicked and Percy quickly added "I'll be back around six to escort you to dinner, if that is alright with you of course."

"Perfect," Piper nodded, not mentioning the moment it had taken Percy to figure out what he was forgetting "I'll see you then my lord."

Percy smiled the oh so charming smile at her once more, before turning to leave Piper to enter the room and relax at her leisure. Besides, he needed to relax to before dinner, too. His nerves were all over the place, and if he tried to eat like this he would probably drop his fork.

His lessons had been suspended in honor of the day, so, grinning a bit to himself, he slipped his hands into his pockets and started back to his room. He moved a little faster at the thought of getting changed.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So what was he like?" Hazel asked, raising an eyebrow slightly as she looked up from the clothes she was taking out of one of the trunks and preparing to be hung up.

Piper had returned from meeting the prince about half an hour ago, and she had spent that time taking a long bath to clean off the dirt of the trip. Really she should have taken one beforehand, but the king had been eager to get the meeting out of the way as soon as possible. They had been shown to the rooms and Hazel had helped Piper prepare, before she was swept off to the throne room and Hazel was introduced to the castle's housekeeper and given a tour of the areas of the castle she would need to know.

The tour was rather fast, something Hazel was incredibly grateful for. Of course she was curious about the castle and wanted to look around more, but she wanted to do it on her own, rather then with the housekeeper, Miss. Dodds, lecturing her the whole way. She understood that the woman was probably just doing her job and ensuring that Hazel knew how a castle was run, but the fact was she already knew most of what the older woman was telling her. She had worked in a castle most of her life after all, this wasn't knew to her. Sure, there were some small differences, but the rules of a castle were more or less the same. Head down, move quickly through the halls, address people appropriately, be polite, and try to be as invisible as possible.

It had been a great relief when they finally reached Piper's room. Of course, Miss Dodds had seemed like she was about to start lecturing her again, but Hazel was saved by that when they realized Piper was already there. Instead, she had just been given quick instructions on when and where to report the following morning, before being left to finally enter Piper's room. Hazel had been slightly tempted to point out that she didn't actually work for Miss Dodds, but it honestly didn't seem worth it. Besides, she liked being busy and had been planning to help out here and there with the castle staff anyway.

"He was- different," Piper replied, laughing a bit as she thought about it. She was sitting at the desk, wearing a simple dress to relax between events and lightly brushing her hair after the bath "He skipped over a lot of the parts of the meeting, which was odd, but also helped get through it faster."

"Maybe he was just nervous," Hazel offered, shrugging a bit as she looked over at her friend, before smiling cheekily at her "He was meeting a beautiful woman after all."

"Shut up," Piper said playfully, rolling her eyes, which made Hazel laugh a bit. The truth was, Piper was beautiful, but you would be hard pressed to get her to ever admit it. "It was more than that. I mean, this can't have been the first time he's done something similar to this, so how nervous could he have been?"

"Some people never got used to being the center of attention, no matter how many times they are," Hazel shrugged, moving to start hanging up some of the dresses. Hazel had only ever been in the public eye a few times, and those times were only because of Piper, so it wasn't like it was really ever on her. Even that had played with her nerves though, she couldn't imagine having to do it constantly.

"I suppose," Piper agreed, though it was clear she was still thinking about something "It was more than that though. It was the way he spoke, it was relaxed. No- not exactly relaxed, just- his accent was wrong. He sounded as if he was trying to talk like the rest of the nobles, but it wasn't quite right. And the way he phrased things was odd."

"Maybe it just has to do with the region, accents can change based off that," Hazel suggested, looking over at her for a moment again.

"Maybe," Piper muttered, though Hazel could tell she still thought something else was going on. Luckily she didn't push the topic, "How's the castle? Did you get the chance to look around much?"

"Not much," Hazel admitted, wishing she had something more interesting to say "The head of the household gave me a tour, though she really only showed me the servant areas, so nothing all that fun. I don't think she understands that I'm not technically under her jurisdiction."

"Well don't let her push you around. If she asks you to do something you don't want to don't do it just to please her or something," Piper said, raising an eyebrow at her. Hazel had a habit of trying to please people. "If it's not your job and you don't want to do it tell her no. If she gives you trouble about it I'll talk to her."

Piper was generally very reluctant to issue orders. From what Hazel had observed from other nobles, this was odd, as most seemed to give orders without a second thought. So she knew how much it meant that Piper was offering this. Still, Hazel leaned towards just doing what was asked to not cause a fuss. The less of a problem she was the less people would think about her. She knew Piper wouldn't accept that though, so she replied with "I may just take you up on that."

"You better," Piper replied, setting her hair brush down. For a moment she just looked over at Hazel before speaking again "As much as I admire your work ethic Hazel, you've been on the road just as long as I have. You should rest, I'm sure my dresses can survive in the case for a little while longer."

"I'm fine," Hazel shook head at that "Honestly I've been bored out of my mind not doing anything but sitting around in a carriage for days."

"Oh, well, it's good to know you find my company boring," Piper teased, grinning a bit as she looked over "And here I thought we were friends."

"You know what I mean," Hazel laughed, pulling out the last dress and hanging it up "Talking is great, and I loved the scenery, but if I'm not doing something I get a bit jumpy."

"Alright," Piper agreed, laughing a bit herself. She glanced over at the clock before sighing a bit and pushing herself up "I'm going to see if I can see the ocean from the other room. Maybe read a bit. Try to relax."

"I will," Hazel assured, smiling as Piper headed into the other room, before shaking her head. Still smiling a bit to herself, Hazel moved to grab another case to pull things out of.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When she heard the door open, Annabeth let out a sigh. Why did so many people need to visit the court records? She could understand why the medics or scholars had to. It was the random people she didn't get. The men she didn't even recognize that would wander in, ask about some obscure family history, make a comment they thought was funny about her being able to help them, and than get annoyed and demand to speak to her father when she told them they were wrong about something or that they couldn't take a particular book out of the room.

Today had been particularly bad. Everyone in the castle seemed to want the complete family history of the visiting princess, and unfortunately it was her job to get it for them. Well, actually, it was her father's job, but he was usually either off doing his other job as the king's adviser or hold up in his office working on something else. Which left Annabeth to sit at the desk that was actually in the public library area and answering the basic questions most people came in with. It was boring, but it was still better then being stuck at home with her step-mother.

However, when she looked up this time a grin quickly crossed her face. "Well if it isn't the young prince himself. Finished wooing your bride to be already?"

"More like finished making a fool of myself," Percy replied, laughing as he entered and walked over to her. He was dressed more casually than he would have been for the event, and the crown was missing, both things Percy tended to do whenever he could get away with it.

"I'm sure you didn't do that badly," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes as she closed the book she had been reading "My father didn't say anything when he stopped back. If it had been really bad I'm sure he would have at least been muttering about the whole thing, if not laughing at how ridiculous you looked."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Percy teased, though he was grinning as he moved to sit down across from her "He really doesn't like me, does he?"

"No, not really. Never has, especially now," Annabeth admitted, shrugging a bit. Percy already knew that much, it wouldn't do any good to lie "Don't take it personally, he doesn't always like me a ton either."

It was meant as a joke, and she said it in a teasing tone, but she wasn't sure Percy took it as one. To her relief though he let it drop. Instead he smiled a bit and shrugged "Still, I wish you could have been there. It would have been nice to have at least one person not just waiting for me to mess up. Maybe you could have mouthed the words to me."

"The court historian gets invited to those kinds of events, his daughter does not," Annabeth replied, shaking her head and starting to sort through some papers. She had always been good at multitasking, somehow it seemed to help her focus better.

"Yeah, well, you should be the historian, you do all the work," Percy muttered.

"That's not true Perce, I just help him. It beats watching the twins and sitting around at home," Annabeth picked up a pen, quickly scribbling on one of the papers before putting it in a pile and going back to sorting.

"Yeah, where is he right now than?" Percy countered, clearly annoyed "Hiding behind a shelf somewhere sorting books?"

"Point taken, but he really is busy," Annabeth replied, sighing a bit. He did have a point, but the fact was she would never be court historian, and honestly she wasn't even sure she wanted to be. Spending the rest of her life sorting through books sounded boring as hell. Still, it would be better than a lot of other options.

Shaking her head, she focused back on what was happening, looking over at Percy and raising an eyebrow as she tried to change the subject "What are you even doing here? I mean, I'm glad for the break from lord after lord, but doesn't the king usually have you in lessons around this time?"

"He let me off for the special occasion," Percy shrugged a bit "I was hoping I could steal you away for a little bit for an adventure before this stupid dinner I have to go to."

"I never thought I'd hear you complaining about having to go to a fancy dinner."

God that sounded nice though. To just ditch the dusty old books and papers and go hang out with Percy for a bit. So it was very reluctantly that she shook her head "I would love to, but my father is with the king, which means I'm stuck here. I don't really feel like dealing with how angry he would be if he found out I left to go gallivanting off with some boy."

"Oh, but he can cut work to go work on his personal projects," Percy muttered, not doing a good job of keeping his annoyance in now. After a moment though he took a deep breath to calm himself down a bit "What are you working on? Can I help?"

"You don't want to spend your day off cooped up in here sorting files," Annabeth said, laughing a bit, knowing Percy would hate the repetitiveness of it even more then she did "Go spend your day off doing something you'll like. Go for a ride or down to the ocean."

"Sorting files with a friend is better than riding around by myself. Besides, I don't have enough time to warrant going down to the ocean," Percy said, smirking a bit as he looked at her "Unless you're just worried I'm going to mess up all of your systems again?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," Annabeth teased in return, grinning at him for a moment, before shaking her head "Go on, do something fun with your day, find Jason or something if you don't want to be alone."

"Fine," Percy replied sighing a bit as he reluctantly pushed himself up from the chair "When you're done though, come find me if you want to-"

"I doubt I'll be done before you have to get ready for dinner, but if I am I will," Annabeth assured, smiling at him as she grabbed another book to pull in front of her.

"I'll see you later." Percy smiled at her for a moment longer, before heading towards the door.

Annabeth glanced up as he left, sighing a bit as he disappeared. She really wanted to go with him. Between their fathers they really hadn't had any time to hang out recently. Part of her knew she should get used to not seeing him as much, but she couldn't. It would only be a matter of time till she was going to have to find her own job or family rather than just helping her dad. Hell, her step-mother was already trying to marry her off so she wouldn't be their problem anymore, and once that happened she wouldn't have a reason to see Percy or any of her friends at the castle for that matter. The only reason that hadn't happened yet was because her father liked being able to use the court records to work on personal projects instead of what needed to be done and leave a little early.

As the door opened again Annabeth was pulled out of her thoughts. Sighing, she moved to grab the family history of the McLeans, preparing to hand it over in response to the question she knew was coming.

* * *

**((Note: Since people have been asking, I am planning to update on Sundays. While the story is completely written, I am still editing it as I go, so I need a little bit of time between posts. Since I was late last week though, I'm posting this one a day early. I hope that makes sense!))**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Would you stop fidgeting?" Hazel complained as she tried to finish off Piper's hair for the dinner. She was already wearing a formal dress and everything else was done. Her hair was always the hardest to get done and Piper knew that the reason was because she was horrible at sitting still.

"Sorry, I'm trying," Piper replied, silently willing herself to sit still. Despite her efforts it was only a few moments before she shifted in the seat again. Hazel didn't actually say anything, but Piper heard a faint sigh. She couldn't help but feel guilty when she heard it. She really did want to sit still, and the last thing she wanted was to make Hazel's job harder, but she just couldn't sometimes.

"Done," Hazel finally said after what felt like forever "You know this would take half the time if you could manage to sit still for five minutes."

"I know," Piper replied, sighing a bit as she turned to face Hazel. Instead of dwelling on it though, she just raised an eyebrow "What are you planning on doing with your night?"

Despite the fact that Hazel didn't really have any strong connection to the kingdom that Piper knew about, she still felt bad that she had pulled the other girl away from her home to spend an indefinite amount of time in a foreign country. Of course, Hazel had insisted that she wanted to come, but there was still guilt. The least she could do was try to make sure Hazel also enjoyed her time in the new area.

"I'll probably just relax for a bit after dinner," Hazel shrugged as she set down the hair brush "Maybe poke around the castle a bit. I'll be back in time to help you change."

"I'm not worried about that," Piper assured, smiling at her "Take as long as you want. If it comes to it I'm sure there's someone here that can help me."

"I'll be back," She assured in return, giving Piper a small smile.

Before Piper could respond or try to protest, there was a knock on the door. Sighing, she pushed herself up, giving Hazel one last look "You win this round. Try to enjoy your night."

Than she reluctantly turned to head towards the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. As predicted Prince Perseus was standing on the other side, smiling at her. For a moment there was silence, and she couldn't help but think that maybe he had forgotten what to say again. If he had, luckily he remembered before it became to obvious, "You look beautiful your highness."

"Thank you," Piper replied, biting back a comment about how she already knew that. She had been pretty or beautiful her whole life, she wanted so desperately to be anything else. But the prince was just trying to be nice, and to be fair they knew next to nothing about each other outside of physical appearance. Besides, as soon as she thought it she could hear an echo of her mother's voice reminding her not to mess this up.

Still, she was tempted to say he was was beautiful in return, both to see how he would respond and because he was very handsome. Instead though she just took his arm when it was offered and started with him down the hallway, deciding she didn't know quite enough about him yet to know if the comment would be taken well or not.

They walked along in silence, both clearly wanting to say something to break the awkwardness, but not sure what. After a minute or two Piper finally said the only thing she could really think of "Do you know who is going to be at this dinner, my lord?"

"Mostly just local lords and nobles from what I understand," Percy replied, which was more or less what Piper had been expecting. After a moment though he spoke again "Seeing as we are going to be spending a lot of time together, and someday we're supposed to- you know- I would appreciate it if you would drop some of the formalities and just call me Percy. At least when we're alone. If that's alright with you of course-"

Piper looked over at him curiously. It wasn't that the request was a surprise, she knew that sooner or later they would drop the formality of titles, though she had thought it would be a bit longer before they did so. The bigger surprise, though, was how nervous he seemed about it. Like he hadn't been sure if it was appropriate to ask her or not. After a moment she smiled and nodded "As long as you agree to call me Piper in return."

"I think I can manage that," He agreed, grinning at her for a moment, though Piper couldn't shake the feeling that the smile still didn't seem completely true. Closer than when he had done in the throne room, but not quite right "Though when my father is around I'm afraid I'll still have to use official titles. At least for now."

"I understand," Piper smiled back at him, "As happy as my mother would be to find we are getting along, she would not be happy with us dropping formalities quite this soon."

Percy nodded, and then they were at the dining hall. Her rooms seemed to be situated fairly conveniently between most of the important parts of the castle. At least the parts that a princess would be expected to find important.

For a moment, Percy just stopped in front of the doors. As if he were preparing himself, before stepping forward and motioning for them to be opened..


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Most of dinner passed in the same way any other dinner would. Piper was seated next to Percy, and most of the meal was spent answering the questions of various lords that were seated around her or being ignored. To her surprise, the same seemed to be true for Percy. The boy seemed to just want to keep his head down and focus on his dinner, not drawing attention to himself, and only speaking up when he was prompted. It was so different from every other male noble their age. At least that Piper had met. Usually they wanted to be the center of attention, to control the conversation around them and show off or brag in some way.

"I trust you have settled in well?" The king asked, looking over at Piper and pulling her out of her observations.

Turning to smile at him, Piper set down her fork "Of course your majesty. The room is lovely, and there is a beautiful view of the ocean out my window. I've never seen so much water in one place before, I would love to visit it before I leave."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Poseidon replied, laughing good naturedly and nodding as he turned his attention to Percy "Perhaps Perseus could take you down there sometime over the next few days."

Percy looked up, seeming surprised that the conversation had turned to him, but luckily it appeared he had in fact been listening, as he quickly nodded "Of course. It would be my pleasure to show you around. We could even look around the town as well, if you like, before going to the ocean. Give you a proper feeling of the kingdom."

There seemed to be a sort of excitement in his words that Piper hadn't really heard before, and it was clear that the idea was one that Percy really liked. However, as soon as he mentioned the town, something crossed Poseidon's face, but Piper couldn't tell what exactly. When Percy was done he spoke again "I'm sure the princess has little interest in that. It's the same as any other town. Why bother with that when there is an ocean to visit."

"On the contrary, I would love to see the town as well," Piper interjected, glancing between them for a moment, trying to figure out why there was such tension about it "In my experience every town is fairly unique."

To be fair, her experience was pretty limited, but the king didn't need to know that. Percy had seemed to brighten up at the mention of the town for some reason and she didn't want to ruin that for him. Besides, she was curious to look around the town. It was smaller than most towns that would be found near castles, and that made her curious.

The king debated for a moment, before glancing between them again and nodding "Very well. Then in a few days, after you've had a chance to rest from your journey here, Perseus can give you a full tour of the town and down to the ocean."

Poseidon asked a few more questions, which Piper suspected were mostly just to be polite, before turning his attention back to the lord on his other side. When he did, Piper tried to catch Percy's eye to give him a reassuring smile, but he was already focused back on his food.

Sighing, she turned back to her own food, letting her mind wonder about the prince again. She wanted to talk to him, ask questions, but anything that was said here wouldn't be private, and he didn't seem overly eager to talk with everyone around. She would just have to wait, she was sure there would be a chance sooner or later.

* * *

The night had been more or less exactly what Hazel had expected it to be. Dinner had been a bit overwhelming, given that she had been in the center of a conversation surrounded by people she didn't know. It had been alright in the long run, as most of the people seemed far more interested in Piper then her, mostly asking questions about the princess or the kingdom they had come from. Only a few actually dealt with Hazel herself, which was the way she preferred it.

It wasn't until after helping Piper prepare for bed that Hazel really started to look around the castle. Exploring didn't feel like exactly the right word, since she didn't really do it to try and find secret passages or anything. It was more that she liked knowing the fastest ways to get places, and didn't want to get lost as she went from duty to duty. She was sure she would probably have to ask for help with directions anyway, but at least she could try and minimize that need by trying to learn her way around on her own.

She was nearing the end of one of the servant hallways, looping back to the kitchens where she had started. The kitchen was always a good reference point, as it was rather easy to find and well connected to main areas of the castle. Reaching the doors, Hazel started inside, planning to cross to the door at the other side as a short cut, but stopped dead as she entered the room. Going through one of the cabinets was a boy, a bag clutched in the hand that wasn't pulling things out of the cabinet.

Hazel's mind raced as she ducked behind a counter out of the boy's line of sight. Part of her brain was screaming at her that she to slip back out the way she had come and go tell someone to stop the thief, but the truth was she didn't care that much. If he was risking his neck to steal from the castle and he could get in and out without being caught, than he deserved whatever it was he was taking. It wasn't like the castle couldn't afford to lose some food, and if he was risking this it must be important. Besides, she was curious as to what he would do.

For now he was just pulling food out of cabinets and slipping it into the bag. As he finished one cabinet he moved to another, immediately grabbing something out before moving on again. He knew exactly where what he wanted was and it occurred to Hazel that he must have done this many times before to be this precise about it.

As he moved to the next cabinet the moon that shown through the window illuminated his face. There was something about him that gave off the feeling of a trouble maker. Maybe it was the dark, messy hair, or the look on his face, or the way he held himself. She wasn't sure. Regardless of what it was, he seemed like the kind of person you wouldn't be surprised to find picking your pocket and when they were caught would somehow talk you into believing he had been doing you a favor. Someone that she probably should be handing over to the guards.

Soon enough, though, he was closing that cupboard as well, and turning away from her. Before she could even fully think through if she should go to get a guard or not, the boy finished and was heading towards the door that would lead to the courtyard. He slowly opened it, glancing around, before slipping out into the night, letting the kitchen door close behind him.

As he disappeared and Hazel pushed herself back up. Her brain was a buzz of questions, wanting to know everything about the boy all at once. Of course, there was no way for her to find any of it out now, she had lost her chance for that when he had disappeared out the door. Sighing, she shook her head and turned back towards the door to the hallway.

It was one mystery she was going to have to accept wouldn't be solved, and yet she couldn't stop her brain from wandering back to it.


	7. Chapter 6

Leo Valdez loved his job. He got to work with fire and make things out of bits and pieces of metal. It was hard, and he was always covered in soot, but it was worth it. He couldn't wait till the day he was in charge and could start making complicated designs for sword hilts and the like. For now though, he was mostly just in charge of making horseshoes and other simple objects. That didn't bother him. It just meant he could get through his work quickly and have time to help out more advanced smiths or fiddle with some of his own projects.

The one part of his job he did not enjoy was having to deal with Frank Zhang on a fairly regular basis. Really he wouldn't have minded dealing with him, except that Frank hated him. To be fair, Leo _had_ almost burned down a stable once, but it wasn't his fault that Frank had never gotten over it, or over the fact that Leo hadn't been fired for the incident. It didn't matter that everything had been put out in time, or that Leo had been punished for it, Frank still hated him.

Despite this, they had no choice but to interact with each other. So when Leo looked up to see Frank entering the forge, he was disappointed but not surprised. Forcing himself to smile, he turned around, raising an eyebrow at Frank "I wasn't expecting you for a few more days, you already manage to go through the last set of horseshoes?"

Frank did not seem amused by the attempt at a joke, instead just handing Leo a piece of paper which had some numbers scribbled on it "The king wants a whole new set put on tomorrow. Something about the prince taking a girl out and not wanting there to be any chance of a horse throwing a shoe and ruining the day. I need them no later than tomorrow afternoon."

"No problem, I could have them done by tonight if needed," Leo replied, swinging a hammer around in his hand as he did, mostly just fiddling with it.

"Even better. I'll except them ready to go when I come in tomorrow morning."

Silently Leo cursed. He really needed to learn to stop being cocky when it came to Frank. The boy always ended up taking him at his word. Sometimes it didn't matter. Sometimes it did, like today. Not that he couldn't get it done in time, he could, he just had other things planned for that time. He couldn't go back on it now though, so instead of saying that he just nodded "No problem, anything else Zhang?"

"Don't forget the nails this time Valdez," Frank replied, before turning to head out of the forge before Leo could say anything else.

"It was one time," Leo muttered, rolling his eyes a bit at that. He watched Frank walk away, before shaking his head and turning back to his work much for his personal project.

Before he could grab the metal he would need to start on the horseshoes however, he heard someone near the front ring a bell, and call back over the noise of metal being hit with hammers "Lunch!"

There was a chorus of responses from the others in the forge as they moved to start securing and cooling things down. Leo secured his own supplies, and was moving to head towards the door when a voice stopped him. "Not so fast Valdez, you're on forge duty."

Leo looked over in confusion "I stayed yesterday. It's Christopher's turn today."

"Do you see Christopher anywhere?" The man asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at him "He's home sick, so you're staying. Don't argue, someone will bring you lunch."

Leo sighed, but didn't argue. Instead he just reluctantly made his way back into the forge, plopping down next to the half finished projects scattered on his desk. Without really thinking about it he started to fiddle with some of the scrapes, just killing time until one of the kitchen girls was sent out with his lunch.

He understood why someone had to wait outside. It would be stupid to put all of the forge fires out completely for a half hour break just to start them up again, but it wouldn't be safe to leave them unattended. It made sense, but it was still annoying.

It was only when he heard someone approaching that Leo looked up. He was about to just give the girl who'd brought it a smile and say thanks, but stopped when he saw who it was. Instead of a smile a look of confusion crossed his face. "I don't believe we've met, which is odd since I make it my business to know everyone who works in the kitchen. I'm sure that's going to come in handy one day."

The girl laughed a bit as she handed him the plate she was holding "That's probably because I don't actually work in the kitchen. In fact I don't work in the castle at all."

"Then why are you currently handing me a sandwich?" Leo asked, eyeing the plate for a moment, before looking back at her, and in a mock whisper asking "This isn't an assassination attempt is it?"

"No," the girl assured, laughing a bit "Though I suppose that's also what I would say if I were an assassin."

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't eat this sandwich-" Leo teased, grinning a bit more when she laughed.

"You've seen through my evil plan- now I'll have to start over," the girl shook her head a bit "No, I'm not here to kill you. I arrived with the princess yesterday. Technically I work under the princess, but Miss Dodds can't seem to understand that I'm not under her supervision. I figured it was better to just do what she wanted."

"That sounds like her," Leo agreed, laughing a bit as he picked up the sandwich "Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Leo."

"Hazel," she replied, smiling at him "I should probably get back before all of the food disappears. I'm sure I'll see you around."

"Yeah, maybe," Leo agreed, grinning at her a bit and nodding in agreement. Picking up his sandwich he continued to smile as Hazel turned to walk back towards the castle.


	8. Chapter 7

Grinning, Percy pushed the door open and walked right up to where Annabeth was sitting "Hey, you busy?"

Annabeth looked up, raising an eyebrow a bit "Not particularly, but before you ask I can't just leave. My dad wants me to stay and help him sort through these documents."

"And if I say I can get you out of it in a way that your dad can't protest?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow in return.

"Than I would call you a genius and gladly go hang out," Annabeth replied, eyeing him a bit as she set down the pen she was holding "What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Being a prince does have a few advantages," Percy said, smirking at her instead of answering. A moment later he had plastered on the charming smile once again and took a step away from her, glancing around the room instead "Mr. Chase? Could I speak with you for a moment?"

The man took a moment, before coming around the corner, seeming a little surprised by the interruption "Your highness, what can I do for you?"

God it felt weird to have him say that, and Percy could tell that the man hated saying it. He did a good job of hiding it, but Percy knew him well enough to notice the way he tensed. It didn't make Percy feel smug though, he actually felt a little bad. He pushed that away as he spoke again "Actually, I was hoping that I could borrow Annabeth for a bit. My tutor says I could use extra help in history, and I would hate to pull you away from your work, so I figured she would be able to help."

"Oh, well if you need help I really wouldn't mind going over some things with you. It is my job after all." Percy could tell that the man was not at all happy with the idea of helping him, but from the way his eyes were flicking between Percy and his daughter, also didn't trust that they were actually going to work on history. Percy really couldn't blame him for that, and had been anticipating that argument.

"I'm sure it's much below your expertise." _Besides, Annabeth knows more about the history of the country than you do_ "I can have Chiron come talk to you if you would like to ensure I really do need help."

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," He said quickly, glancing over at Annabeth "Go on, just be back before it's time to head home."

"Of course," Annabeth agreed, looking slightly impressed as she glanced back at Percy. There was a flutter of pride when he felt that. It was rare that he was able to impress Annabeth, especially by being clever.

It wasn't till they were out of the room that Percy let the charming smile change back to the natural lopsided grin and raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. She just laughed and shook her head a bit in return "I have to admit, that was pretty clever Seaweed Brain. Did you see my dad's face when he had to address you?"

"Can you blame him?" Percy asked, laughing a bit himself "He hates me, and he knows he really can't tell anyone about it now."

"He doesn't hate you, he just doesn't think you're a great person for me to be hanging out with," Annabeth teased in return, before seeming to consider for a moment "My step-mother on the other hand, she hates you. To be fair, she hates me too though, so I wouldn't be to worried about that."

"Your step-mother's opinion is very low on my list of priorities," Percy assured, shrugging as he turned to head towards his room.

"So what are we doing with this free time you've gotten us?" Annabeth asked curiously.

"Oh- uh-" Percy reached up to rub the back of his neck a bit "I do actually need help with my studies. You don't have to help me though if you don't want to of course. You can go do something else while I study if you want."

"No, of course I'll help," Annabeth replied quickly, smiling at him "Sorry, I just assumed it was all a plan to find time to hang out."

"Well-" Percy looked over, grinning at her "The nice thing about it is that it can be used again and again, and once we sort of establish a pattern no one will question it. And I mean, I don't have to do my studies every day, but it's not like your father knows that."

"Very clever," Annabeth said, grinning at him again "I'm impressed. Sure you even need my help? You're pretty smart all on your own."

"I'm sure," Percy laughed a bit at that. It really hadn't been that smart, it was pretty straight forward, but it was still nice to hear. Especially from Annabeth "Trust me, I've been trying to struggle through the text for like an hour."

"Alright," Annabeth nodded a bit, moving to bump his shoulder a bit with her own "Let's get through it as quick as possible so we can just spend some time together than."

"Good," Percy grinned, pushing open the door to his room and holding it for her "I miss being able to just spend time with you."

"Me too," Annabeth hesitated at the door for a moment, before just smiling at him "Let's get to work."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"I can't wait to get out of this castle for a bit," Piper smiled as she tied up her hair. She was dressed in the simplest clothing she'd brought with her, not wanting to draw too much extra attention to herself while they were out and about. Also, she just didn't want to wear anything overly fancy, and the fact that they would be going to the beach afterwards gave her the perfect excuse not to. The sand could have awful effects on finer fabric after all.

She didn't know if that was true or not, but it sounded like a reasonable enough thing that should someone ask her why she was dressed so simply she could use it as an excuse.

"I know," Hazel agreed, smiling at her "A day out sounds wonderful, and the ocean- if it's pretty from your window just imagine what it's going to be like when we get closer."

"I'm sure it will be wonderful," Piper agreed, smiling as she finished with the knot she'd made to keep her hair up, and turned to face Hazle. For her it wasn't really the beauty of the ocean that struck her. Of course, it was beautiful, but there was also something wonderful about the vastness of it, the wildness that seemed to come with the waves. All things that she was sure would be even more impressive when she was close enough to actually hear the water and feel the wind that she was told blew off of it.

Before she could say any of that though, there was a knock on the door. She gave Hazel a quick smile, before pushing herself up to answer the door, letting the smile grow a bit as she did so. Normally Piper would have expected to see a steward on the other side, but for some reason Percy had always seemed to insist on coming himself, so it was no great surprise to see him standing there.

"Piper, I just wanted to ensure that you'll be ready in time for our trip." Percy seemed happier than normal, his smile seeming more genuine than she had seen it before "And to make sure there is nothing else you need before we set out."

"Thank you, but yes we will be ready on time and I don't think there is anything else that we need. I just need to finish up quickly. I will meet you at the stable in a few minutes."

"Right," Percy nodded, for a moment seeming to just stand there a little awkwardly before speaking again "I will see you down there then."

With a nod, he turned and headed back down the hall. Piper couldn't help but laugh a bit as she watched him, shaking her head and turning back to Hazel. She was about to continue the conversation from earlier, but stopped when she saw Hazel's face. The younger girl was staring at where Percy had been, looking as if she had seen a ghost. "What is it?"

Hazel shook her head, as if clearing it, before finally looking at Piper "Do you remember that boy I told you about? The one I saw stealing food from the kitchen?"

"Of course, why?" Piper looked back at her curiously. Surely she wasn't implying…

"I- I mean, it was dark, but there was a enough light for me to make out a few details," Hazel hesitated, clearly debating what she was about to say before finishing "I'm pretty sure it was the prince. That was the first time I've been close enough to really see details about him."

For a moment Piper just looked over at her, brain spinning, before shaking her head "That doesn't make any sense. You said the boy was dressed like a commoner. Besides there's no reason the prince would need to steal food, especially that night. We had just had a nine course meal."

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but it was him," Hazel sounded more sure this time. Now that she had said it, it was clear she was going to defend it "There is just something about him- I know it was him."

Biting her lip slightly, Piper debated what to do, before just sighing "All there is to do now is go meet him. I'll see if I can figure anything out. Without mentioning you of course. Ready?"

She waited till Hazel nodded, before taking a deep breath and turning to head towards the stables.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to get more men?" Jason asked again as he looked at Percy. He should go get more men, he was aware of that. Right now it was just him and one other guard. "I know you know the city well, but with you and the princess surely a few more guards would be best. Your father-"

"Leave my father out of it," Percy shook his head "I'm supposed to be getting to know her. I can't do that with a dozen people trailing us. I won't ask you to lie to the king, but I am asking that you don't mention it unless he asks."

Jason hesitated, glancing over at his fellow guard for a moment. He didn't like it, but as long as he wasn't being asked to lie he supposed it wasn't that much to ask. Slowly he nodded "Very well. I'll even refrain from saying I told you so if it goes badly."

It was out of line, and if it was anyone else Jason wouldn't have said it, but as predicted Percy just laughed "I appreciate that."

Smiling in return, Jason just nodded. He was good at matching his personality and mood to the one that would put the person he was guarding most at ease. Before becoming Percy's personal guard he usually worked for diplomats visiting from far away, and so he had plenty of practice at it. Usually the way to go was to just act as the perfect soldier. Back straight, only speak when spoken to and even than as shortly as possible, always at the ready. Percy was different. The only way to make him feel at ease was to act casual and make jokes when possible. He supposed that made sense though, given everything.

Before he could respond, he saw the princess and her maid approaching. Immediately he stepped to attention next to the door of the coach. The girls approached and as was proper Percy greeted the princess and helped her into the coach. Jason waited for Percy to enter so that he could help the maid up, but instead Percy stayed put to do it himself. It was only than that Percy climbed in himself.

Rolling his eyes a bit but not surprised, Jason secured the door. Then he went to the front, climbing up next to Frank. The other guard took the back of the coach and a second later they were pulling out of the gates.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It would be an exaggeration to say that Piper had never been anywhere like this before. Of course she had been in the city of her parents' kingdom, but it wasn't a common occurrence. Even when she had though, it was a much different feeling then the town they were in now. The whole place felt rather small, at least for a city that was just outside a kingdom and near the ocean. When she had asked about it she had been told that the reason was because the section of the beach they were near wasn't actually very good for ships. The castle had been deliberately built in an area that would make it hard for ships to attack due to the way the banks were laid out, so the bigger shipping cities were about half a days ride in either direction.

Whatever the reason there was an undoubtedly different feeling about the town then the one she lived in. It felt more friendly, and people seemed to know each other. Though, maybe that was because when she was allowed out like this at home it was usually with at least half a dozen guards. To just be able to wander around like this with only one guard trailing behind them… it was wonderful.

As they walked her eyes scanned over buildings, taking in the different stores as they passed. When one caught her eye she would smile a bit and ask if they could look around. Without fail Percy agreed, and without fail he bought something. Even if the shopkeeper tried to insist it was a gift, Percy would counter insist that he wanted to pay. If it was clear they wouldn't allow him to he would promptly buy something else and pay more than it was worth. If he had just done it once or twice, Piper wouldn't have thought anything of it, but it had happened at every store they went to. That was odd.

What was odder though, was how friendly some of the shop owners seemed to be with him. Several started to call him Percy before catching themselves and quickly changing it to some more formal address. Others seemed to have to force themselves to address him formally, saying it through clenched teeth or with slight bitterness in their voices. Percy didn't seem to mind any of this, just letting them talk before smiling and replying, often calling the other by name. He seemed so comfortable with the people of the village, much more comfortable than he had been with the nobles of the court or at the feast. Piper had no idea what to do with that information.

The most casual encounter came as they entered an apothecary, along with an odd selection of reed pipes, which Piper had had little interest in but Percy had actually insisted they visit.

No sooner had Percy stepped through the door then the boy behind the counter had broken into a grin "Percy? What are you doing here? The king finally letting you out of the castle?"

Piper watched as Percy's face changed from a grin to one of warning as he looked over at the boy. It had only lasted a second before Percy was smiling again, but she had no doubt she had seen it. "Grover, always a pleasure to see you. May I introduce Princess Piper, she is visiting from her kingdom and wished to see the town."

The boy's face immediately fell, going slightly pale as he realized Piper was there. He bowed his head a bit and spoke much more seriously "M'lady, I'm sorry I didn't see you. It is an honor to have you here."

This had also been a common theme for the day. As soon as people realized that Piper was there as well they would become much more formal, which she couldn't blame them for. She just wasn't sure why they were so relaxed when it came to Percy.

"Thank you," Piper smiled at Grover, before glancing around the shop "You really do have a wide selection of remedies here, do you help with making them?"

"Oh- uh- yes m'lady, and I created most of the pipes-" Grover seemed suddenly uncomfortable.

Luckily Percy spoke before he had to again "Actually, I was hoping to speak with you about something if you have time. It should only take a minute."

"Of course. What's up Per- M'lo- your highness?" Grover seemed to be looking for approval that he had said the right thing at the end, but Percy just rolled his eyes a bit in response "We can step into the back room if you like?"

"That would be perfect," Percy nodded, before looking back at Piper "I hope you don't mind excusing me for just a moment?"

Piper nodded, though she was still looking at the two of them with a bit of confusion "Of course. Take your time, there is plenty here for me to look at while I wait."

That was true, and it was clear that the two wanted to talk alone. She watched with curiosity as Percy headed towards the backroom, seeming to know where he was going before Grover had motioned towards it. Maybe he had just seen the door. Either way, Piper was left alone in the shop with the guard. For a minute or two they stood around in silence, Piper glancing around at the different items, before switching her attention to the guard. He couldn't have been any older than they were. Bored and curious, she smiled at him "You're Jason right? I thought I heard Percy say that."

Jason seemed surprised at being spoke to which she didn't fully understand since he had been talking to Percy all day, but after a moment he nodded "Yes your highness."

"You're much more formal with me than you are with the prince," Piper noted, raising an eyebrow a bit. That seemed to fluster the boy, causing Piper to smile a bit more "Don't worry it's just an observation. In fact, most of the town is much less formal with him than me."

"Yes, well," Jason still seemed a bit flustered "The prince tends to not be a very formal person, especially when his father is not around. I suppose over the years people have just become used to that."

"I see," Piper wasn't sure she trusted that. Even if the prince was less formal, the shopkeepers seemed much to friendly with him to be normal. Plus, how had he become so informal in the first place? It wasn't necessarily bad, in fact Piper thought it was nice, she just didn't understand how it had happened.

After a moment of thought though, she just shook her head and let it go, sure she wasn't going to get much more out of Jason on the subject and not wanting him to stop talking to her all together. "You can't be any older than myself or the prince. How did you get ot be his personal guard at such a young age? You must be very good at your job."

"I wish I could tell you it was just because of my skill," Jason replied, laughing a bit at that and seeming to relax slightly now that the subject wasn't about the town "The prince has a bad habit of not wanting guards following him around. He kept managing to find ways to ditch them. The king thought that having someone closer to his own age might make him less resistant to the whole thing."

"And did it work?" PIper asked, partly to keep the conversation going, partly because she wanted to learn as much about Percy as she could, but mostly just because she was curious. She didn't like having to constantly be around guards either, but she understood why they were needed.

"Mostly," Jason replied, thinking for a moment before adding "Though mostly it's because we came to an understanding rather than my age. For instance I don't follow him around the castle and he doesn't skip out on his lessons. Or I don't bring a whole squad of guards on the rare occasions we go out and he doesn't try to ditch me."

"Sounds like a fairly good agreement," Piper smiled a bit and nodded. She wished some of her guards could follow the same pattern. That, at least, might be one good thing about being here. She was about to ask Jason something else, but before she could the door to the back opened and Percy and Grover reappeared, laughing as they did so.

Smiling, Piper looked over at them and raised an eyebrow "Got everything figured out?"

"Yes, just a few things to sort out," Percy assured, grinning at her, before turning to Grover and offering him his hand "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"As always," Grover agreed, grinning back at him as they shook hands "Until next time your highness."

Piper didn't miss the slight teasing in his voice as he addressed Percy, but she didn't say anything. Instead she just smiled and said her own goodbye to Grover, before taking Percy's arm and heading out of the shop.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Hazel was bored. She was half wishing that she had agreed to go with Piper and the prince, but she knew Piper probably wanted to be alone with him. Besides, normally she was okay sitting in the coach during things like this. She didn't love it, and would rather be doing something productive, but she could keep herself entertained. Being in a foreign city, with new things all around her made it a lot harder to just sit around wasting time.

After awhile Hazel finally gave in and moved to open the door. She carefully climbed out, looking around for a moment before focusing on the front of the carriage. Not knowing where she was or how long it would be till Piper and the prince returned, she couldn't go exploring like she wanted, but she could at least get a look at the horses. Maybe talk to the driver or the guard that had stayed back with them.

Coming around the side she didn't see the guard anywhere, though Hazel suspected he was likely just on the other side of the carriage. The driver, however, was standing on the side near her, rubbing one of the horses.

"They are beautiful," Hazel said softly as she stepped forward, moving around towards the front of the horse. She didn't want to spoke it, and was doing her best to read its body language. After a moment she carefully reached up to stroke its nose.

"Only the best for the prince and his guest," the boy seemed slightly surprised by her approach, and seemed even more surprised when she started to stroke the horse's nose. "You know about horses?"

For a moment Hazel glanced over at him, before turning back to stroke the nose again "Yes. At least how to approach them. I've been around them quite a bit."

Plus, animals just seemed to naturally like her, horses in particular, but she felt like saying that would either make her sound silly or full of herself. Besides, it seemed she didn't have to. The driver just smiled a bit as he looked back at her "You're good with him. He doesn't usually take to people."

Hazel shrugged a bit, not really sure what to say to that. After a moment she looked back and smiled at him in return "I'm Hazel by the way, Princess Piper's lady-in-waiting."

"Frank," he replied, nodding a bit to her "I'm an apprentice of the master of horses at the castle, though really I function mostly as a go to for most of the animals."

"Doesn't sound so bad, as long as you like animals, which I assume you do," Hazel laughed a bit as she glanced over at him. She had to assume he did, why else would he work with horses?

"Animals are easy," Frank shrugged, looking back to the horse and patting him again "They tell you what they want, you just need to know how to listen. People are much harder."

He sounded almost wistful as he spoke, and Hazel couldn't help but smile softly as she listened. It made her wish she had the same connection with them that Frank seemed to.

"That sounds nice," Hazel agreed softly, looking over at him as she did so "I miss being around animals."

"Did you work with them a lot back home?" Frank asked curiously, which she couldn't blame him for. A lady-in-waiting wouldn't usually be around animals much.

"No, but the- my father used to work in the stables, so I used to spend a lot of time around horses when I was younger." That was a slight lie, but Hazel couldn't bring herself to feel too bad about it. It was a lot more straightforward then trying to explain the full story to a total stranger.

"Well maybe I can show you some of the ones around the castle, since you'll be here for awhile. Might as well take advantage of it."

Hazel looked over with slight surprise, and smiled a bit when she saw Frank grinning at her. "That would be wonderful. I'd love to see them."

The grin Frank already had grew a bit at that, and he nodded at her, before turning his attention back to the horse. For a moment Hazel debated if she should say something or not, but really the silence wasn't bad. She actually kind of liked it, and she got the feeling that Frank wasn't one to talk just for the sake of talking. So instead she just smiled and turned back to stroke the horse.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The house that Annabeth was currently standing in front of was growing all to familiar to her. The outside of the house had been familiar for a long time. It was larger than most of the others in town, and somehow seemed older than the rest of the town as well. The man who lived there was a mystery to pretty much everyone, and who he was and how he had come into his fortune had always been a source of rumors. She had heard more than one story about how he had murdered his wife and took her fortune or some other devious act, and honestly Annabeth had come up with some herself.

But, when they had been running past it as kids, making up stories and daring each other to go through the gate, she had never imagined she would one day actually be going inside. She definitely hadn't imagined that one of the kids she had been running past the house with would now live there. Though, to be fair, a lot of things had happened recently she hadn't been expecting.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth reluctantly turned to follow Andrea up to the door. It was the one outing her step-mother ever actually went on with her. Usually Annabeth was sent out on her own for errands, and if Andrea was going to her friend's house or some other social event Annabeth was the last person she'd bring along. This required both of them, and so twice a month (occasionally more) they headed into town together. It didn't use to be that often, or always this house, but something had changed a few months before.

The door opened, jerking Annabeth out of the thoughts she had slipped into during the walk. Her eyes focused on the young man who had opened the door, smiling as he greeted Andrea first. That wasn't that odd. Sometimes the maid would answer, but for some reason he seemed to take it upon himself to greet them personally more often than not.

The smile didn't waver as he turned to Annabeth. She pushed back how weird it was to see him like this. How despite the fancy clothing seeming to fit him well, it was still odd to see him in them. Instead Annabeth just nodded a bit when he bowed slightly to her in greeting, forcing her voice to be pleasant "As always, it is a pleasure to see you Luke."

"The pleasure is mine," Luke assured, smiling at her as he did so. That charming smile, the one that had drawn her in so well when they were younger. That she would have done anything for. Would have followed anywhere.

God she hated that smile.

Luke stepped back, holding the door open for Andrea to enter, followed by Annabeth. As always, Annabeth's eyes flicked around the room, taking it in before looking back at Luke, who was still wearing that all to charming smile "My mentor is waiting for you in his study Mrs. Chase, he is eager to speak with you."

"Thank you, Mr. Castellan," Andrea nodded, not even looking at Annabeth as she headed towards the stairs that would lead up to the study, which Annabeth had only been in once, when Luke showed her some of the books up there one day.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth turned back to Luke and forced herself to smile at him. She wasn't completely sure why she pretended to want to be there. When her step-mother had first started to take her to meet eligible bachelors it hadn't seemed worth it to argue. Honestly she hadn't even fully realized what was happening right away. And with Luke…

At first maybe she thought that despite everything she had seen and heard about the man he had become, the boy she had known was still there. It had been a few years since they had actually interacted prior to all of this, and she still had fond memories of running around with Luke and Thalia when they were kids.

She had been wrong.

The boy who had taken care of her all those years ago was gone, but there had never seemed like a good time to stop pretending and start expressing her dislike. So here she was, smiling at Luke and following him into the sitting room.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"You've really never been on a beach before?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at Piper.

"Never," She agreed, laughing a bit and looking out at the water. It really was incredible, to be able to just look out and not see anything on the other end. To actually see all the way to the horizon. She had been able to do that a few times before, but there had always been something else along the way, a house or trees. Now there was just ocean.

"I can't imagine never coming out here," Percy shook his head, before looking back at the water himself. It was obvious that Percy loved it here, even without him telling her. Everything, from the way he looked at the waves, to the way he spoke about it, to the way sometimes he would just stand still and seem to listen. "This is my favorite place to come."

"It's incredible, and you were right about the view from my window, it was beautiful," Piper smiled, stopping to just look out over the waves for a moment, trying to take it in. She had known it was going to be huge, but that hadn't even begun to prepare her.

For a moment they just stood in silence, letting the sounds of the ocean wash over them. The two had made their way a little ways down the beach, though they were careful to stay in the line of sight of the others to keep Jason from freaking out. They were far enough away that with the sound of the ocean, there was no way to hear them though. If she looked out at the water, Piper could pretend that they were completely alone.

After a moment, Piper's eyes shifted away from the water and over to Percy. For the first time since she had met him, Percy seemed completely relaxed. Completely himself. As handsome as he had been before, there was something better about the wind tossed hair and simpler clothing. He was clearly more comfortable. More genuine somehow.

They must have stayed like that for at least a full minute, Piper's eyes shifting between Percy and the horizon, Percy's firmly locked on the ocean. Finally though, Percy sighed and turned to head down the beach a bit further. Taking the cue from him, Piper fell into step beside him "Do you come out here a lot?"

"If I had it my way I would never leave," Percy replied, letting out a small laugh a small smile lingering on his lips as he spoke, his voice softer as he added "My mother used to take me out here whenever she could get away for the day. We would spend the day just building sand castles, and running in and out of the water. It didn't happen often, but god were those days great."

Biting her lip, Piper looked over at Percy, hesitating for a second before softly saying "I'm sorry to hear about your mother. From what I understood she was a great woman. I was surprised to be coming here so soon after her death."

She watched Percy carefully, not wanting to push it or upset him. Honestly she had no idea how he would react, as he hadn't mentioned his mother at all before now. To her surprise though, Percy didn't appear sad. Instead he looked confused, before a look of realization hit him. All of it happened in a matter of seconds, and a serious expression quickly took the place of realization, but Piper had seen it. It was like, for just a moment, he had forgotten his mother was dead.

"Of course, thank you. It was sudden, but my father wanted to move past it. Show the kingdom that we are strong, even after my-" There was the slightest of pauses, the slightest clench in Percy's jaw "After the queen's death. That's why he rushed this I think. To throw himself into it and not have to think about her passing."

"Still, I'm sorry," Piper said automatically, but her eyes were still scanning Percy, trying to read him. Something wasn't right, but she kept the curiosity off her face "It's good that you have a place like this where you can go to think about her."

"Yeah."

It was the only reply that Percy gave, and for a moment he looked out at the ocean. Then he just shook his head and seemed to snap out of it. Looking over at her he raised an eyebrow, voice surprisingly light as he spoke "Any places like this for you? I mean, obviously it's not the ocean, so it can't be that great, but I'm still curious."

Piper laughed at the teasing, glad that they were now on lighter topics and she could just focus on getting to know him again, rather than over analyzing every motion "My father used to take me out in the woods sometimes. My mother always disapproved. Unlady like. I always loved it though. So I suppose that would be my version of your ocean. Out in the middle of the woods, where you can't see or hear anything but nature around you."

"You'll have to show me sometime," Percy said, smiling now as he looked over at her "I never spent much time in the forest, and even then it was usually with my friends and we were to busy messing around to really appreciate that there was no one else around."

"Really?" Piper asked with surprise, looking over at him curiously "But you must have been hunting and things, and isn't a big part of that being quite enough to not scare away the animals?"

"Oh! Of course," Percy said quickly, in a way that made Piper sure that he hadn't thought about that at all, and in turn made her think he wasn't being honest about it "But that's different. I mean, yeah it's quite, but you're completely focused on what's happening, so I don't think it would really be the same as what you're describing either."

"I see," Piper nodded a bit, before smiling as she watched Percy reach down to pick up a rock peeking out from the sand. A moment later it was skipping across the water.

"Could you show me how to do that?"

"I can try," Percy replied, smiling again as he looked over at her "We just need to find another rock."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Come on Chase, what's the worst that could happen?" Percy was laying back on his bed, Annabeth sitting on the edge of it near him. They had been working on his history lesson, but as usual, had gotten side tracked.

"Your father could catch you and put you on lockdown," Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm going to sneak out either way, so there's' no reason I shouldn't come visit you," He insteaded "If you're really not going to then I'll go visit Grover."

"Good, go see him," She replied evenly "You see me at least once a day now. You never get to see him."

"I saw him when I went into town and when I snuck out last time," Percy countered, shaking his head. Fully engaged in the debate now, he pushed himself up so that he could look over at her properly "And sitting around in here is not the same, and you know it. We used to go on adventures all the time."

"Yeah, when we were kids," Annabeth laughed and shook her head "What if my dad sees you? He won't hesitate to tell the king."

"He won't see me," Percy insisted, sighing "Annabeth, come on, this isn't like you. Since when do you care about sneaking out? You've never given a shit about your parents' rules."

It was true. Everyone always seemed to think Percy was the troublemaker of the two of them. Between his crooked smile and sarcastic remarks, and her blonde curls and calm exterior, it seemed obvious. Percy had gotten into a lot of trouble over the years, but the truth was, of the two of them, he generally tried to follow the rules. Annabeth, on the other hand, tended to have little to no regard for rules that she didn't think were important. Which was most of them.

"Percy," Annabeth sighed, looking at him for a moment, before looking down "With everything that's happening- the last six months- I just think it's better to be careful."

There it was. The moment he had been dreading. Of course this was what all of this was about. Why she had been acting weird lately. Without thinking about it, he reached over to take her hand and squeeze a bit "Annabeth, I'm still me. You're still my best friend, and I'm still the guy you went on adventures with. Nothing changes that. So please just relax. Unless my father's around there is no reason to act any different then we did before."

"I know you're the same person Percy, of course you are," Annabeth replied, sighing a bit, but squeezing his hand in return "And of course we're still friends it's just-"

"No just. No but," His eyes scanned her face to try and read her. He was good at reading Annabeth, but she was also good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to "Please Annabeth. You are one of the only things in my life that's not changing. Don't start acting all weird on me now."

For a moment, Annabeth just looked up at him, before smiling a bit "Alright."

"Good," Percy just smiled at her softly for a moment, before breaking into a grin "So I'm going to sneak out tomorrow night. I'm going to go to your house, and we're going to go on an adventure like when we were kids."

"Alright," Annabeth said again, laughing as she looked over at him. That just made Percy grin more. He loved making her laugh.

He was about to lay back on the bed again, when he noticed Annabeth picking up the book they had been working through. He already knew what she was thinking "Come on Wisegirl- just a few more minutes- my head still hurts."

"No way, you already talked me into sneaking out," Annabeth smirked a bit as she looked over at him "That means now we have to focus on your history lesson. Chiron is starting to expect that you've actually done your work."

Percy groaned and flopped back on the bed dramatically "Do we have to?"

"Unless you would rather I left and you could do it on your own-"

Sighing, Percy pushed himself up "Fine, give me the stupid book."

Smirking, Annabeth handed it over.

* * *

The pigs were cute. The dogs were cuter. What was really cute though, was how excited Hazel seemed to get around all of them.

She seemed to be completely mesmerized by the different animals, grinning as she looked at them. Every time they stopped at one of the pens or kennels, she would immediately ask Frank if they had names, and other questions about them. There energy she had about all of them, even animals as simple as chickens, just made her cuter.

They ended up looking around a lot longer than Frank had been anticipating. But it was hard for him to prompt Hazel that maybe they should move on when she was grinning at whatever animal they were currently looking at. It was only when he realized that if they didn't get to the kitchen soon they would miss lunch all together that he finally suggested they call it for the day.

Even as they walked back to the kitchen, the energy Hazel had was still around them. They were laughing and mostly just talking about nothing in particular, when an all to familiar voice called out "Hazel. The kitchen girl who isn't a kitchen girl, long time no see. I don't suppose you're here to give me my lunch again?"

Frank was scowling as he turned, but to his surprise he heard Hazel laughing next to him. Before he could say anything, Hazel had spoken up "Sorry Leo, we're just heading in for our own lunch now."

With that Frank was ready to continue to the kitchen, but to his slight annoyance Hazel was walking towards Leo. So, reluctantly, he turned to do the same. Sliding his hands into his pockets he stayed slightly behind Hazel as they made their way to the forge.

"They have you out here again?" Hazel asked, raising an eyebrow as she reached him "Don't they ever let you eat inside?"

"They would if Christopher ever stopped being sick," Leo replied, laughing a bit, before smirking at her "But if it means I get to keep seeing you I can't be that upset about it."

"I can't make any promises," Hazel replied, laughing a little, as Frank merely rolled his eyes. It wasn't at Hazel, he could understand that Leo had his charms, but he'd found the joke Leo had made rather lame.

"I'm glad I saw you actually, I was tinkering around the other day and I think I made something you might like," Leo reached under his tool bench, and a moment later popped back up, keeping one hand under the bench. The other he offered to Hazel "May I see your wrist please?"

To Frank's, and Leo's from the look on his face, surprise she did not offer him her wrist. Instead her hand moved to pull down the sleeve of her other arm, the one that was near Leo's hand. There was a moment of silence before Leo spoke again "It's alright, I'm not going to do anything. I promi-"

"Valdez," Frank snapped, glaring at him "If she doesn't want to then-"

"No-" Hazel cut him off in return, taking a deep breath before continuing "Sorry I just- zoned out for a moment. Of course."

She still seemed nervous, but she got close to the bench, before reaching out to give Leo her wrist. Given the circumstances, Frank couldn't help but watch her wrist curiously. As she moved her arm the sleeve of her dress pulled up, and to his surprise he saw a pale line, the start of some shape, peaking out. It was a stark contrast against her dark skin, and if Frank wasn't wrong it seemed like part of a brand.

From under the bench Leo produced an intricate bracelet. Carefully he set it on the table, before moving to push up the fabric around Hazel's wrist, probably to stop the bracelet from ruining the fabric.

His eyes caught a white spiral.

The wrist was pulled away.

Before they could say anything, Hazel was running back towards the castle.

Frank just watched her, before turning on Leo "What the hell did you do Valdez?"

"I don't know," Leo didn't sound sure. His voice was distant, and his eyes were fixed on where Hazel had disappeared. "I don't know..."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Enough was enough. Piper's head was spinning with all the information she had gathered about the prince in the nearly two weeks. There were just to many things that didn't add up. It was driving her insane and she wanted answers.

It wasn't until she was about to reach the hall to Percy's room that she started to doubt what she was doing. What if there was a reasonable explanation and she went barging in demanding answers? But if so, then why wouldn't he have said something? Besides, he could always just refuse to tell her, right? The only real fear was addressing it could make him pull away. Not that they were really getting close, at least romantically, but she thought they were at least becoming friends. She needed more friends, and it would be nice to have the person she was supposed to marry not completely closed off to her.

In the end though, not knowing was going to eat away at her. She wanted answers, and she didn't want to just leave her imagination to come up with the worst options possible.

Taking a deep breath, Piper turned the last corner and saw Jason standing outside Percy's room. It was incredible how he could manage to not appear bored. Almost every other guard she had ever seen on duty had looked bored out of their minds.

"Jason," Piper smiled at him as she approached, trying to hide how nervous she was "Since you're here I take it the prince is as well. I would like to speak with him."

Jason smiled as she approached, but hesitated at the request "I'm afraid he is a bit busy at the moment. Can it wait?"

Piper hesitated. Could it wait? After a moment she shook her head "It isn't life or death, but it is rather important."

If she didn't do this now Piper was scared she would lose her nerve and never do it. For a moment Jason hesitated again, before nodding. He turned, knocking on the door, waiting for an answer before opening it and slipping inside. For about a minute Piper was left alone, and then the door opened. A blonde haired girl exited, followed by Jason.

The girl looked at Piper for a moment, eyes full of curiosity, before she quickly fell into a curtsy. "My lady."

Before Piper could really respond, the girl was moving down the hall, away from her. Shaking her head, Piper looked back at Jason, who merely opened the door for her to enter the room. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward, seeing Percy sitting at his desk as she entered the room, the door closing behind her.

"Busy?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow a bit and crossing her arms as she looked over at Percy. The question had came out before she really had time to think about it. Maybe she was trying to stall. Either way she found herself adding "She was beautiful. Can't really say I blame you."

"What?" Percy looked over at her in confusion for a moment. She saw the exact moment it dawned on him what she was implying. A second later he was laughing "It's not what you think. Annabeth has been helping me with my studies. I'm rather bad at history and she's the daughter of the court historian."

"Right," Piper nodded a bit, really not all that concerned about it. "I need to talk to you."

"I figured as much," Percy shrugged a bit, pushing himself up and motioning towards the sitting area near the side of the room. It was only once they were both sitting, facing each other, that he raised an eyebrow at her "So, what is it you would like to talk about?"

For a moment she just looked over at Percy, debating again if this was the best option, before speaking "You've been keeping something from me. I would like to know what it is."

Percy just nodded a bit. He didn't seem surprised and it wasn't the immediate denaile she had been expecting. Instead he seemed content with the statement. After a moment he asked "Have you figured out what it is, or just that I'm keeping something from you? Just so I know how elaborate my lie needs to be."

The last part was said in a teasing way, and Piper knew it was meant as a joke. Despite herself she smiled slightly at it, before growing serious again as she looked back at him "I have an idea, but I would rather not guess."

She tilted her head for a moment, just looking at him curiously when he didn't immediately respond, before adding "You're not freaking out about this."

"I knew it would only be a matter of time before you realized something was going on. I thought it would be a bit longer, but I'm not exactly disappointed," Percy replied, shrugging "But, my father ordered me specifically not to tell you, so I'm afraid you're going to have to guess. Or at least back me into a corner where I have to explain."

If Piper wasn't mistaken she saw the flicker of a smile on Percy's face. He seemed to be enjoying this, but Piper didn't think it was because he liked knowing something she didn't. It felt more like he really did want her to figure this out. That made Piper smile a bit as well, though she wasn't completely sure why.

"You speak with a commoner's accent. Mess up traditions you should have done all your life. Claim you have never really traveled, and you were clearly lying about hunting which are both things you should have done for political reasons if nothing else, and you know the name of every person in town but struggle with those of the nobles at court," Piper listed off, watching as Percy merely nodded at each point. For a moment she just looked at him, meeting his eyes as she continued "And you talk about the queen and your mother like they are two different people. On the beach when you were telling me about your mother you seemed so caring, it was obvious how much you loved her. When I mentioned her death though, you didn't get sad. You became detached, started calling her "the queen" instead of mother like you had before."

"Wow, I knew I wasn't great at hiding it, but I thought I was doing better than this," Percy said, laughing slightly when Piper paused "Though to be fair I was hoping you'd figure it out, I didn't want to try and fool you at all. I would have rather told you the truth from the start."

"And what exactly is the truth?" Piper asked, looking over at him for a long moment before speaking again "If I didn't know any better I'd think this was some fairy story where you are a commoner that decided to switch places with the prince."

"Wrong story, but I think it's close enough," Percy replied, smiling a bit, though he grew more serious when he started to talk again, leaning forward slightly as he looked over at her. "I have only been a prince for about six months. The king is my father, but you are right, the queen was not my mother. My mother is alive and well, living in a small house at the edge of town."

For a long moment Piper just looked at him, everything clicking into place. It made sense, a lot of sense, but somehow she hadn't been expecting her suspicion to be right. She had been expecting some other obvious answer that she just hadn't thought of. After a moment she looked back at Percy, who was looking away from her, clearly just giving her time to process

the information and come to a conclusion. Taking a deep breath she simply said "You're the king's bastard."

Percy nodded "The king's only bastard, at least according to him. I'm not sure I believe that, but if it is the truth, then I am also his only child."

"The queen died without having an children," Piper's brain was spinning, filling in the rest of the pieces "So, desperate for an heir, the king found and legitimized you."

"Pretty much," Percy agreed, giving her a small smile, before growing serious again "I'm sorry for lying to you. I'm not ashamed of my past- I love my mother more than anything. If I'd had it my way you would have known the whole time, but my father insisted. He didn't think your mother would agree to this is she knew the truth. You have my word that I was planning to tell you, and soon."

"I believe you," Piper assured, giving him a small smile "And honestly, my mother probably will throw a fit when she finally finds out."

"You mean, you're not going to tell her?" Percy seemed legitimately surprised as he looked over at her "You're not about to call this whole thing off?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I want to marry you or not Percy. I don't love you, you don't love me, but to be fair it's only been two weeks. I do like you though, as a friend if nothing else, more than any of the other suitors my mother has set me up with," Piper smiled at him as she looked over and to her relief, he smiled back "So for now, no I'm not going to call it off. And if you agree to answer the few questions I still have truthfully I will wait to tell my mother and father until a time we both agree on. Deal?"

"Deal," Percy agreed, a grin spreading across his face. It was the first genuine grin Piper had seen from him. Maybe now she would get to see it more.

"How did your parents meet?" The question came out before Piper could even think about it, and honestly she wasn't sure why. It really didn't matter, but for some reason she wanted to know what had driven the king to have a child with a commoner, even if it did end up simply being the result of one night together.

"I don't know a lot of the details. My mom never talked about it until the king showed up, and he has refused to fill in most of the blanks," Percy shrugged a bit "They met on the beach. It was before my father was king. For some reason he was alone and dressed plainly, my mom didn't even know he was the prince. They talked, and agreed to meet again. After a few 'meet again's my mom was in love, and I assume he was too. After a few months though my grandfather died. My dad had to tell my mom the truth about everything then and as far as I know that's the last time they saw each other till after the queen's death. My mom didn't know she was pregnant yet, but obviously at some point he found out, I'm not sure how though."

Slowly Piper nodded a bit. There were a lot of holes in the story, but from the sound of it they were holes for Percy too, so she didn't think he was keeping things from her. Besides, they weren't really needed. "She must be a remarkable woman to have caught the eye of the king, and to raise a son on her own. I would like to meet her someday.

"I'd like that, and so would she," Percy assured, giving her a small smile "She's already bugging me with questions about you."

"I can imagine," Piper laughed a bit. After a moment though she grew slightly more serious as she asked "Hazel saw you stealing food from the kitchen the first night we were here. I take it you were bringing it to her?"

"No actually. When the king first showed up at my door telling me he was my father and he was going to make me a prince, I basically told him to fuck off. I didn't want to be a prince, so he made a deal with me. I came to live with him, become the prince, and in exchange he makes sure my mother never wants for anything," Percy explained, shrugging a bit "Usually I give the food to one of my friends, or if I meet someone along the way who looks like they need it."

Piper had to admit she was slightly impressed. Most people she knew would have jumped at the opportunity Percy was given, so it both surprised and impressed her that he had seen it wouldn't all just be fun and games, that he had initially turned down the offer. It was a level of wisdom she hadn't been expecting from him. "And I take it the boy you talked to when we went into town, Grover, he's one of those friends?"

"Yeah, my best friend actually," Percy replied, nodding at that "Along with Annabeth. The three of us used to get into a lot of trouble when we were younger."

"Annabeth?" Piper raised an eyebrow at him "The girl that was helping you study when I arrived?"

Percy nodded "Her family lives near my mom. Her father really is the court historian, and most days she comes in to help him. I used to hate it because it meant there was very limited time we could spend together. Now it's nice to have at least one part of that life here."

Piper watched him closely as he talked about the other girl, eyes taking in his body langue. The slight smile on his lips.

After a moment she shook herself out of it, glancing at the time "I should go get ready for dinner- I'm sure Hazel is already waiting."

"Of course," Percy nodded, pushing himself up and offering her his hand. Piper took it, and to her surprise Percy didn't drop it as soon as she was standing. Instead he squeezed it a bit as he smiled at her "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course," Piper smiled in return, before dropping his hand to start towards the door. Upon reaching it though, she stopped and looked back at him "And Percy, I know you aren't ashamed of your past, and I honestly don't care, but a lot of people will. Your father wanting to keep it hidden likely has as much to do with your own safety as it does his reputation."

"I know," Percy sighed, reaching up to run a hand through his hair "I just, don't really like lying, especially about myself."

"I understand, it's just something to think about," Piper assured, smiling at him for a moment "I'll see you at dinner."

Then she turned to step out into the hall, head still spinning a bit from all the information she had just learned.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The conversation with Piper had gone surprisingly well. No one had been near the kitchen, and his mother had seemed well looked after. Percy was having a good day. So as he walked along the path to Annabeth's house, he was in a really good mood. The fact that he was on his way to see Annabeth didn't hurt either.

Reaching the house, Percy ignored the front door, and instead started to sneak around the side towards the back. As he turned the corner he noticed a candle in the kitchen window, and swore a bit under his breath. Annabeth wouldn't try to sneak out until both her father and step-mother had gone to bed, which meant Percy was going to be stuck waiting until they did. Luckily, there was an odd outcropping of the house, which combined with the bush along the side, created the perfect cover. Plus he could usually hear what was being talked about in the kitchen, so at least he had some entertainment while he waited.

Unfortunately, tonight Mr. Chase was just telling some story about his day. Most of it was boring, but Percy couldn't help but smirk a bit when he heard him complaining about how Annabeth was starting to stay longer and longer when she was helping Percy study.

Annabeth had been determined to learn about her father's work, despite the fact that Percy knew reading came as hard to her as it did him. She wanted to prove herself to her father and get his attention. Instead he had just used it to get out of doing his work so he could follow his own pet projects. If he wasn't going to appreciate having Annabeth around, he was more then happy to have her helping him instead.

Percy was probably sitting against the wall for at least twenty minutes before the light finally went out. He gave it a few minutes, before pushing himself up and slipping around the back of the house. It was about five minutes after that when the back door opened and Annabeth stepped out. Seeing Percy she smiled a bit and moved over to him "Sorry, they were up late again."

"I saw, don't worry about it," Percy assured, grinning at her, before moving to hand her the bag he had been holding "This is for you. But only if you promise not to share it with the rest of your family. Not even the twins."

"I promise," Annabeth assured, laughing a bit, which just made Percy grin more. "Besides, the twins don't need anymore sweets and my parents would just question where it had come from."

Nodding, Percy waited as she carefully tucked the bag near the door so she wouldn't have to carry it around, before moving back to join him. Without even thinking about it Percy took her hand, and started to lead her away from the house.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," Annabeth couldn't help but laugh as she looked up at the barn in front of them "I knew we were heading towards here, but I figured you had something else in mind."

"I told you, we are going on an adventure like when we were kids," Percy grinned as he looked over at her "We used to play in here all the time."

The barn in front of them was old. Really old. Honestly Annabeth had no idea who, if anyone, it actually belonged to, as she had never seen anyone doing any actual work on it or in the fields around it. What really made the barn interesting though, was there were places that were completely destroyed. Annabeth figured there must have been a fire, but it would have had to have been a long time ago. For as long as she could remember the barn had been in this state.

"I suppose you're right," She was still laughing a bit as she answered, looking up at the structure for a moment. Then she turned back to Percy and grinned, pulling his hand a bit as she started forward "Well come on then."

Reaching the barn, they moved around to the side and slipped through a hole in one of the walls. It was a tighter fit than when they were younger, but still easier than trying to move the heavy barn doors. The inside of the barn was dark, but there were enough holes in the ceiling to let in some moonlight, enough to make out shapes of the few objects and fallen rafters scattered about. Annabeth was fairly sure she could make her way to the rickety old stairs even without the help of the moon though. She probably could have done it with her eyes closed given how many times she had been there as a kid.

A flight of stairs, and a ladder that was missing a few rungs later they were in the hayloft and moving towards the area under the biggest hole in the roof. When they were younger they had piled up hay there, some of it left over in the barn, some found other places. Over the years the pile had dwindled, some of it being blown away, some of it stolen by animals, but there was still enough to make a comfy places to lay back.

"You know, this isn't as high as I remember it being," Percy said, laughing as he looked over the edge of the hayloft and back to where they had come from.

"That's because you've been up in the tops of towers now," Annabeth replied, smiling as she looked around. Of course she had seen it all before, but it had been awhile "Even your room is higher than this. When we were kids, this was the highest place we'd ever been."

"I guess you're right," Percy agreed, just looking over the edge for another moment before moving over to the pile of hay to sit down.

Smiling, Annabeth moved over to sit down next to him, raising an eyebrow as she did "So what now? Is this the end of our adventure?"

"Well, now we sit here and talk, like we used to do when we were kids," Percy replied, shrugging a bit "Unless you have a better idea?"

"None at all," Annabeth assured, smiling as she sat down "Though we could have just talked in your room like we usually do and not had to risk any of the sneaking around."

"I was going to visit my mom tonight anyway, so please don't worry," Percy said, smiling fondly as he shook his head "Besides, if we just talk in my room it doesn't count as an adventure."

"I suppose you've got a point," Annabeth admitted a little reluctantly, rolling her eyes. She was slightly tempted to point out that just sitting in an old barn wasn't much of an adventure either, but that wouldn't do anything but make Percy feel bad. Besides, the whole thing was giving her a feeling of nostalgia. Like maybe things weren't so different after all.

"So, what would you like to talk about then?" Percy asked, grinning as he looked over at her for a moment before moving to lay back in the hay so that he could look up through the hole at the stars.

"Oh, I see, you're going to dump the really hard question on me," Annabeth teased, laying back in the hay as well, thinking for a moment before adding "I actually think I talk to you more now than I did before this whole mess. Anything interesting happen to you since we saw each other a few hours ago?"

She looked over at Percy, expecting a quick laugh and an even quicker answer of no. To her surprise though, he actually seemed to be considering, and there was a decent pause before he spoke. When he did it was as if what he wasn't saying anything important at all "Nothing big. Piper figured it all out this afternoon."

"Piper knows?" Annabeth was sitting up, her attention fully on Percy, who just nodded from where he was lying back in the hay. Grinning at her. "Like, about everything? Your mom and how you grew up? All of it?"

"You can say bastard Annabeth, I've known I was one my whole life. The only difference is now I'm the bastard of a king," Percy said, laughing a bit and finally pushing himself up so he was sitting as well "And yeah, all of it. She guessed most of it, and what she didn't I filled in when she asked."

"How did she figure it out?" Annabeth smirked a bit and added "You were dropping hints, weren't you? You never liked the idea of keeping it from her."

"No actually- I mean I wasn't going to out of my way to hide it, but I wasn't deliberately dropping hints," Percy said, laughing a bit at that "It was just a lot of little things I did that tipped her off, things I didn't even realize I was doing. I think what really did it was that I couldn't bring myself to call the queen my mother."

Slowly Annabeth nodded a bit. Percy loved his mom more than anything, and her him. It was obvious to anyone who saw them together. Annabeth couldn't blame him for not being able to say the queen was his mother. The woman had raised Percy pretty much by herself. His jackass of a step-father had been more trouble than help in pretty much every aspect, including raising Percy.

"How did she take it?" Annabeth asked, biting her lip a bit as she looked over at him. She had to imagine it had gone well given Percy's current attitude, but she was still a little nervous to hear the answer.

"Surprisingly well actually."

Despite having anticipated that Annabeth felt slightly disappointed at the news. She shouldn't have, it was good news. If she had freaked out Percy would have likely been in trouble with his father. Yet there was a small part of her that was disappointed. "She was alright with it? She's not going to call off the wedding?"

"No, she even agreed not to tell her parents until a time when it will be taken well- or at least better," Percy said, nodding a bit. For a moment Annabeth thought that he sounded slightly disappointed as well. She was probably just imagining it. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow "I've got no big secret to reveal or anything else exciting. My life is the same as always."

Her life was boring. There was no getting away from it. She hated it, and wanted nothing more than to get out, but there was nothing to be done. Honestly Percy was the most exciting part of her life. He had been even before the whole prince thing.

"Come on, there's got to be something," Percy insisted.

Annabeth just shook her head, moving to lay down in the hay again as she thought about it "Mathew almost started Bobby on fire, that was pretty entertaining."

"I swear, the fact that those two have even made it to nine is a miracle," Percy said, laughing as he laid back down next to her "But that's your brothers. What about you?"

"Honestly?" Annabeth sighed, shaking her head "Most of my life is just sorting files and flipping through dusty old books. The hour or so I spend with you is the most exciting part of my day. Thanks for that by the way. It's nice to get a break from the library, and to actually spend time with you. Even if we are supposed to still be going through books."

For the last few months she had rarely gotten to see him between his prince duties and her father. God she had missed him, and now they suddenly had more time then she really knew what to do with. It was nice.

Slowly Percy nodded a bit, but Annabeth could tell he was disappointed with her answer. Or maybe he just felt bad, she wasn't sure. Either way, he got a little quieter as he spoke "Remember when we were kids, and we decided that as soon as we were old enough we were going to get out of here? Become explorers, get a ship and sail around, or become bandits, or do anything to just have a little adventure in our lives?"

"Yeah, of course," Annabeth agreed, laughing a bit as she looked over at him, though to her surprise Percy was looking at the stars, face and voice serious.

"Back then finding out one of us was secretly royalty would have just sounded like another great adventure to go on. Hell we probably tossed that idea around too."

"Probably," Annabeth agreed, slipping her hand into his again, and squeezing it a bit "It would have sounded like an incredible adventures. Castles, fighting, parties, travel."

"In the end all it did was ensure that I can never leave," Percy squeezed her hand in return. Finding out he was the king's son had done so much more than that. They both knew it, but neither said it. "I wish we had gone on one of the other adventures instead."

"Me too."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Leo didn't have many excuses to go in and out of the castle. Usually he was out in the forge except during meals and after dinner, and then he was expected to stay in the kitchen and the dormitories. Which made it hard to try and find a time to talk with Hazel if she was trying to avoid him, which he seemed to be. Which sucked since his mind was a buzz with questions, that obviously only she could answer.

For a few days she had seemed to be avoiding the kitchen all together, at least during any times that he would be there. Finally, four days after the incident with the bracelet, he saw her slip into the room, though she deliberately sat as far away from him and Frank as possible. During the meal, Leo's eyes kept flicking between her and Frank. As far as he could tell the other boy was unaware of her presence.

As soon as Hazel pushed herself up, Leo did the same. She was closer to the door than him, so she reached the hallway before he was even halfway through the kitchen. Ignoring the looks that he was being given from the other people at the table, Leo simply slipped out into the hall after her.

In front of him he could see Hazel quickly making her way down the hall and away from him. Without even thinking about it Leo hurried after her, not speaking till he was close enough to do it without yelling "Hazel- wait-"

The girl jumped, turning to face him and causing Leo to stumble a bit in order to stop before he ran into her. Once she saw him though, Hazel just shook her head and turned away again "You're not supposed to be here Leo."

"I know- so please talk to me before someone else finds me." Before he could really think about it Leo had reached to grab her wrist "Please wait- I just want to talk to you about the other day- what I saw-"

"You didn't see anything," Hazel snapped, and Leo was surprised by the annoyance in her voice. At least she had stopped to look at him again, and Leo let her wrist drop as she did so, a little surprised by the anger and intensity. "And there is nothing to discuss. I'm sorry for running off, but I forgot I had something to do. Which I also have now, so if you'll excuse me-"

"You ran because you were scared we'd notice the druid marking."

It came out before Leo could really think about it. Fear surged through him for a moment, instinctively he glanced around to make sure no one else was there who could have heard it.

For a moment Hazel was silent, her face unreadable. Then she just shook her head "I don't know what you're talking about, but-"

"Yes you do," Leo insisted, his hand moving towards the sleeve of his shirt "You don't need to worry, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"There is nothing-" She stopped short. Leo watched as her eyes fixed on his wrist, on the black tattoo of spiraling flame located there. The druid symbol for fire. At the time the symbol had been a reminder, and it still was, but given his current job it was even more fitting than before.

There was silence again as Hazel looked at his wrist and Leo looked at her, waiting for her to say or do something. Leo could see her mind spinning, but he didn't move, just stayed where he was, his hand holding up his sleeve to show the tattoo.

Then, without a word, Hazel stepped forward to take Leo's hand, forcing him to drop the sleeve, and pulled him across the hallway. She easily pushed open a door and motioned for Leo to enter, before doing so herself and closing the door behind her. Inside was a rather bare bedroom, a spare servant's room if Leo was correct, but before he could really look around Hazel was speaking "I don't know what you think, but I am not a druid. I'm not going to tell anyone, but you should be more careful before just showing off that tattoo to someone you barely know."

"You may not be a druid, but you have a druid marking," Leo insisted, shaking his head, not understanding why she was being so weird about this "So either you were, or your parents were, because no one just goes out and gets a druid tattoo for the fun of it, let alone a brand."

Different groups gave the markings differently. Given the dangers in recent years some had stopped doing it all together. The fact that the mark on her wrist had clearly been a scar from some kind of burn had just reassured him that it was a druid marking. A spiral tattoo could have just been that, unlikely, but it could have. A brand though? A lot less likely.

"Why do you have one than?" She snapped.

"Because I'm a druid," Leo replied simply, shrugging.

"A druid blacksmith?" Hazel said with slight disbelief, which really Leo couldn't blame her for. It wasn't exactly a common combination.

"My mother died when I was young- after that my story is a little complicated, but it ends with a group of druids taking me in," Leo replied honestly, shrugging, and hoping he might prompt her to be honest if he first filled her in on his life "But I always wanted to be a smith, so when I saw the opportunity I took it. Even if it was risky given everything. Luckily my gloves cover my wrists, and besides most the other smiths wouldn't know what it meant even if they did see it."

For a moment he didn't think she was going to return the favor. There was a long moment of silence, but then Hazel finally spoke "My mother was a druid. She was also insane, always muttering things- crazy things. All the others seemed to think she was some sort of prophet, that her ramblings meant something, but they were wrong. She was just crazy."

"So how did a druid girl become the princess's maid?" Leo asked in confusion, looking over to her curiously and hoping she wouldn't mind him pressing a bit.

"My mother was having a bad day. Raving and spitting out all kinds of crazy things. I couldn't be around her anymore, so I went for a walk. It wasn't an uncommon thing for me to do," Hazel shrugged a bit, not really looking at him as she continued "When I returned the king's men had found the camp- destroyed it. Anyone who wasn't dead was long gone. The king himself was there, a rare but not unheard of occurrence. I was only a kid, and the fighting was over, so he took pity on me. Brought me back with him to be raised by some of the castle staff. The rest just sort of happened."

"So they know?" Leo asked. He didn't press about her mother or what had happened. His curiosity was still piqued, about what her mother had said, but it was clear Hazel hadn't wanted to talk about it so he left it alone.

"Many of the people in the castle, but I still try to keep it to myself- especially now that we're here. The only one here who knows is the princess," Hazeld replied, shrugging a bit, before looking back at him curiously "You?"

"Jason- the prince's guard. He's a really good friend of mine. No one else," Leo replied honestly. It wasn't exactly something that you showed off, especially in a castle. There was no telling who it would get back to, and he wasn't about to risk losing his job, or worse. It had been a hard enough job for him to get.

"Obviously I won't tell anyone," Hazel assured, giving him a small smile.

"Thank you," Leo replied, nodding a bit, before looking at her curiously again "The one thing I don't understand, why didn't you just give me your other wrist?"

"The angle we were standing at- the hand you held out, it would have been really awkward, and would have immediately drawn attention to the fact that something was wrong," Hazel replied, shrugging a bit, before glancing towards the door "I should go."

"Me too," Leo admitted, glancing around before looking back at her and smiling slightly "I really shouldn't be in here at all. Generally speaking the castle is off limits, but I didn't know how else to speak with you. Let you know you don't have to be avoiding me."

"I appreciate that," Hazel smiled at him in return for a moment, before turning to head for the door. Before she could reach it however, Leo spoke again.

"And I don't think Frank saw it at all. And I don't know him all that well, but even if he did, I don't think he would care."

Why did he say that? It was true, but why would he say it? Especially about Frank. Especially to her.

"I- I appreciate that," Hazel said a little awkwardly, looking back to give him one last smile, before slipping out the door. Leaving Leo to wonder if the comment about Frank would prove to be a mistake.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Jason had to admit, they were well matched. Percy had only been practicing swordsmanship for a few months, but he was a natural. Yes, his stance wasn't great and his style of fighting was undisciplined, but that didn't change the fact that he was good. He had good instincts and was quick with his movements.

As the dull swords clanged together again, Jason was able to catch just a hint of a smile on Percy's face, before the boy had pulled his sword away and was swinging at his side. The blow was quick and usually would have landed if Jason wasn't trained to fight. Percy probably wouldn't be beating any knights any time soon, but Jason was confident in his ability to defend himself from bandits and the like.

For a few more minutes the swords clanged together as they moved about the area, until for just a moment Percy managed to get behind him and the flat of his blade landed on Jason's shoulder. Breathing a bit harder than normal, Jason turned to see Percy grinning at him, the other boy speaking before he could.

"I know, I know," Percy was still grinning as he let his sword drop "My stance was sloppy, my style all over the place, and it was un-princely to stab you in the back."

"All things I'm sure your instructor would say," Jason agreed, laughing as he let his sword fall to his side as well "I'm not your instructor though. My job is to make sure you're alive. If fighting dirty keeps you that way then I'm all for it. Though you're right your style of fighting wouldn't have been accepted in a knightly competition."

"Good to know," Percy replied, laughing as he looked over at Jason, though a moment later Jason noticed Percy look past him. Turning he saw Piper watching from the side of the area marked out for training. Smiling a bit Jason took a step to the side to allow Percy a clear path to her.

Percy moved past him, smiling as he approached Piper "M'lady, do you just get a thrill from watching us spar?"

"As thrilling as it is to watch you two attack each other with dull swords, no that's not why I came down here," Piper agreed, laughing a bit at the comment "I was planning to take a stroll through the garden, but I was hoping for some company. Also I heard it is a bit of a maze, so I figured I should see if someone who knew their way about would be available."

"As much as I would love to, I have to go to my actual studies soon," Percy replied, and Jason knew he meant it, though wasn't sure if it was due to wanting to go or just wanting an excuse to get out of his studies. To his surprise, Percy continued, looking over at Jason as he did "Perhaps Jason could keep you company in my place? He's a bit more of a stickler for the rules, but a good conversationalist. If neither of you mind of course."

Percy meant that too. Jason could say he didn't want to and Percy would just figure something else out. He wouldn't even be upset. Jason knew all of that, and yet he nodded "Of course your highness, as long as the princess is alright with it."

"Wonderful," Piper smiled at him and nodded, before looking back at Percy "Good luck with your studies, My Lord."

"Thank you, I'll need it," Percy smiled at her again, before nodding to Jason and heading back towards the castle.

Jason moved over to grab his actual sword from where he had left it, before turning to Piper and crossing the rest of the distance to her "I hope you are not disappointed your highness. If I'm being honest, I don't really know all that much about the gardens, though probably enough so that we won't get lost."

"Not at all," Piper assured, smiling at him as she turned towards the garden "Mostly I just wanted someone to keep me company. I'm sure the gardens aren't complicated enough to get lost in."

"For someone like you most likely," Jason agreed, nodding as he fell into step beside her "But you wouldn't believe how much trouble some of the people who come to visit have with it."

"I've had my fair share of interactions with people of the noble class." To Jason's relief she was laughing a bit as she said it. He was pretty sure he had her pinned, but he only had a few limited interactions to go off of. "I would not be surprised in the slightest."

Smiling, Jason turned his attention back towards the garden, a bit at a loss for what to say. He knew Piper wanted conversation, she had said as much, and really he wanted to talk with her as well. The only problem was he had no idea where to take the conversation.

Luckily Piper didn't seem to have any problem with that, and after just a moment of silence, though to Jason it felt longer, she asked "Why did you become a guard? You don't have to tell me if you don't wish, I'm just curious why you would pick it."

"I needed a job, and the pay is fair," Jason replied honestly, shrugging as he thought about it "Comes with free lunch- and for a reduced wage I can stay in the castle and receive all three meals."

"I suppose those are all good reasons," Piper agreed, though it was clear she still wasn't convinced "I just- can't imagine choosing a job where you will have to take orders your whole life."

"I'm glad to see you have faith in my ability to get promoted," Jason teased, raising an eyebrow at her, before shrugging "It's not like I'm a soldier. There's not constantly a superior officer watching me and barking orders."

"I know," Piper assured quickly "But you are still subject to any order the king or prince may give. Of course, everyone is, but most don't have as much contact as a guard."

"The prince isn't to big on orders," Jason replied, laughing a bit, "And I suppose I'm just used to following rules."

"How do you mean?"

Jason looked over at Piper as she spoke, having been expecting the question to follow his statement. He knew he didn't have to answer, she had already established that, and like with Percy, Jason knew she had meant it. After a moment though, he did anyway.

"I was raised in the church. Most of the priests were nice, but they were pretty strict and there were very specific rules we needed to follow," Jason glanced over, judging her reaction to the information that he was a foundling. He was relieved, but not terribly surprised, to discover Piper seemed unphased.

"Why would you leave then? If the priests were nice and you don't mind rules? Why leave at all?" Piper asked, tilting her head a bit as she looked over at him. That was a fair question. Most children brought into the church ended up as priests or nuns.

"Because I was eleven and wanted more than that," Jason shrugged "I didn't want to just be stuck at a church. Once I left I needed a place to go and I thought if I became a guard it could lead to becoming a knight. I really wanted to be a Paladin- despite leaving I was still very devoted to the church. Of course, I realized pretty quickly that being a guard is not a step towards knighthood, but it's a good job and still offered the opportunity to travel if I worked hard and became a personal guard of the king or prince. So here I am."

"I suppose that's true," Piper sounded slightly disappointed, but Jason couldn't figure out why she would be.

There was another moment of silence, before Jason asked "Why are you so against rules?"

"It's going to sound rather bratty of me," Piper was trying to sound teasing about it, but it was clear that sounding bratty did actually worry her "But my mother has always placed a lot of rules on me. Always telling me what I couldn't do, and what I had to do. It was just a lot of pressure. If I had my choice I would just go stay in the woods, just live freely that way. I can't imagine anyone picking a life that has so many rules tied onto it."

"It doesn't sound bratty," Jason assured, looking over to smile at her "It sounds human."

"Thank you," Piper smiled at him a bit in return, before softly adding "I'm sorry that you'll never get to be a knight."

"It's alright," Jason assured, still smiling as he looked over at her "Just promise whenever you and the prince go on trips to other kingdoms, you'll let me be part of the guards that come along."

It was said as a joke, and he was fairly sure from his voice that it was obvious. To his surprise though, Piper nodded, her voice serious as she replied "I promise."

"And in return whenever it's just the two of us, you may break any rules you like," Jason offered, smiling at her. After a second thought though he added "Well, any that don't jeopardize your safety. That still has to be my priority."

"Thank you," Piper smiled at him again, nodding. She sounded grateful, which just made Jason smile more.

"I do the same for the prince. I don't see any reason I can't extend it to you." Jason shrugged a bit, before looking back out over the flowers. This time the silence didn't feel awkward, he didn't struggle for something to say. He just let it sit, and there was a sort of peace between them.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The day was slow. To be fair, most days were slow. It wasn't like there was a booming need for the herbal remedies that were sold in the store. Some people bought them religiously, but most saw them as a luxury they didn't bother buying unless they really thought it would help. Even less people were interested in the flutes. So generally Grover was stuck sitting behind the counter either bored out of his mind, whittling, or playing music. Today he didn't really want to play, and was out of materials, so boredom it was.

So when someone walked in, Grover was glad to have something to do. When he saw who it was he couldn't help but grin "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be up at the castle at this time of day?"

"Usually I would be," Annabeth agreed, smiling at him as she walked over to the counter "But my step-mother wasn't feeling well so I had to stay home to look after the boys. Except then she sent me here to get things to try and help her feel better and run some errands, so I guess she's well enough to watch them. That or they're just running wild right now."

"Either way, I'm glad that you came in. I'm bored out of my mind here and I'm dying for anything to do," Grover said, grinning at her as he took the list of supplies she handed him "Though I take it you need to just get the supplies and leave? No time to just sit and talk and relieve me of some of my boredom?"

"Well- I probably shouldn't just hang around and chat," Annabeth agreed, though she was smirking a bit as she did so "But if you just happen to take forever to get the things I need, that's hardly on me, is it?"

"You got it." The response just made his grin more "So, how's life? It's been a long time since I last saw you."

He understood why, and didn't blame Annabeth for it in the slightest. His father was giving him more responsibility with the store, and she was going to the castle pretty much every day. There just wasn't a lot of time anymore. All of them seemed so much busier than they had even just a year before. Especially the last few months.

"Same as always," Annabeth replied, laughing a bit as she looked over at him "Going to work with my dad regularly, dealing with my brother's when I'm not there. You?"

"Finding plants, making flutes, sitting here bored," Grover laughed as well, and starting to grab a few things off the shelves "I saw Percy the other day. He came in here with the princess."

"Good, he misses you," Annabeth leaned against the counter as she looked over at Grover, who was in the middle of "accidentally" incorrectly measuring something so he would have to start over.

"Do you get to see him a lot at the castle?" Grover asked, glancing up at her for a moment. He missed Percy too, but knew there was only so many times he could see him. That was just part of the deal.

"Yes actually," Annabeth smiled a bit more as she thought about it "He told my dad he needed extra help with his history lessons, so now I get to go help him pretty much everyday. I actually think I see him more now than I did before all of this."

"I'm sure he loves that. Probably making this whole thing worth it for him by itself," Grover teased.

"I'm pretty sure he'd still rather be here with his mom over getting to see me everyday," Annabeth replied, rolling her eyes.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Grover smirked a bit and raised an eyebrow at her, though he was also serious about the comment "He was willing to do pretty much anything to spend time with you. Even if it meant sneaking around and risking getting in trouble."

Despite the fact that more often then not the three of them had ended up finding themselves in trouble, Percy actually tended to do his best to avoid it. One of the few exceptions was regularly sneaking out at night to be able to spend time with Annabeth, something he was still doing now even with the higher stakes.

"Grover," Annabeth sighed, and Grover knew that she knew exactly what he was thinking. She was pretty clever when it came to things like that "Of course we like spending time together. We're friends."

"Right, that's all," Grover rolled his eyes, before intentionally cutting one of the plants to short and having to start over.

"It is," Annabeth sighed, and now Grover looked up, not even pretending to work on the ingredients. He could hear how serious her voice was, and wanted to give her his full attention. "Maybe before, but now? We can't. You said it before, he came in with the princess. The princess he's supposed to marry."

"He doesn't love her, it's obvious," Grover shrugged a bit, trying to catch Annabeth's eye. Despite his efforts, she wouldn't look at him.

"It doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't he still needs to marry her. Or if she backs out the next princess the king finds for him," Annabeth still wasn't really looking at him as she spoke "Just let it go."

For a moment Grover just looked at her, before sighing and doing as she said. Just murmuring "I'm sorry," before turning back to finish the rest of the supplies. A moment later he was setting them on the counter for her.

"Thank you," Annabeth finally looked over at him, smiling as she handed him some coins "Sorry for bringing down the mood so fast."

"Not your fault, I shouldn't have pushed," Grover smiled a bit in return and shrugged "I guess you have to go now?"

"I really should," Annabeth agreed, sighing as she gathered up the stuff "If I stall much longer the twins might burn down the house."

"Alright," Grover hesitated for a moment before adding "If you ever get free time it would be nice to be able to actually spend time with you. No pressure, just, if you find time."

"I'd like that," Annabeth agreed, smiling at him for a moment "I'll see you soon Grover, I promise."

Grover just nodded, watching her go, before sighing as he sat back in his chair again. Absentmindedly he started to fiddle with the pipe he kept behind the counter. A moment later a simple tune filled the empty shop.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Taking a deep breath, Hazel looked at the stable, debating again on what the best way to do this would be. She needed to, she knew that, it was just a matter of how she was going to. Apologizing to Frank wouldn't be easy without saying why she had freaked out, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to do that yet. She liked Frank, and Leo's comment did reassure her a little, but she still didn't know if she wanted to dump that on him.

After a moment of hesitation, she forced herself to walk forward. She couldn't avoid Frank forever. Well maybe she could, but she didn't want to. The time they had spent together had been really fun even if it was short.

The stable was empty, as Hazel had been hoping it would be. Luckily it had been easy to figure out a time when Frank would be the only one there. He liked to do things like brushing down the horses, and so he was almost always there later than everyone else. Which also made it very easy to locate him inside of the stable, despite the fact Hazel couldn't see him right away. Instead she heard him murmuring softly to the horse he was brushing down.

Hazel smiled a bit, listening to the murmuring, before taking a deep breath and walking down the aisle to the stall. As she stepped into sight she spoke softly "Would you like some help?"

Frank looked up with surprise when he heard her. To her relief, he smiled a bit when his eyes landed on her "I wouldn't be opposed. If brushing down horses is something you enjoy doing with your free time."

"Sounds a lot better than washing dishes, or whatever else Miss. Dodds will try to set me to if I go back through the kitchens right now," Hazel replied, smiling at him before finding a brush and moving to help him.

"You don't have to if you don't want," Frank said quickly "You can just stand there while I finish, I don't mind."

"I'm only teasing," Hazel smiled at him for a moment, before starting to brush the horse as well "I want to help."

"Alright," Frank agreed. Hazel held her breath, waiting for the question, but to her surprise it didn't come. Instead Frank just continued to brush the horse in silence.

Finally after a minute or two, when it was clear Frank wasn't going to ask, Hazel spoke up "I'm sorry for what happened last time."

"It's alright," Frank replied, shrugging a bit, before glancing at her for a moment "I hope I didn't do anything to offend you. I was really enjoying the day."

"You didn't," Hazel assured quickly "I just- overreacted. It's a long story, but Leo freaked me out when he grabbed my wrist- it's not his fault, he didn't do anything wrong. I just overreacted to the whole thing."

Slowly Frank nodded, taking a moment before he answered "Then why have you been avoiding me?"

"I was embarrassed," Hazel replied simply. It was true. Of course there had been more to it then just that, but he didn't need to know that. At least, not yet. "I ran off for no real reason. Not exactly the most sophisticated thing to do."

"You didn't have to be, I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Frank pulled his hand back from the horse as he finished, turning to face Hazel as he did so.

Taking a deep breath, Hazel did the same, nodding "I know. I'm sorry. I promise next time I won't randomly freak out."

"Next time?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at her. He was trying to keep straight face, but Hazel could tell that he was fighting back a smile.

"Well I'd really like there to be a next time," Hazel replied, shrugging and looking up at him, raising an eyebrow at him in return "If you would."

"I would," Frank agreed, not trying to hide the smile now "I have the day off on Friday, would you be free then?"

"I can be," Hazel said, nodding and grinning up at him, before adding "Would you like help with the rest of the horses?"

"I would love it."

Still smiling, Frank opened the door to the stall to let Hael out, before leading the way over to the next stall in the row.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It was rare that Leo was actually assigned coal duty. Usually that went to the newer apprentices. He had done his time when he first started working at the castle, and worked his way out of having to do it. Every once and awhile though, it still fell on him. That had been the deal for today. Do coal when it comes in for the morning and he got the rest of the day off. Not great, but worth it.

So, Leo started the day in the back room of the forge, shoveling coal from a cart parked near a door that lead from the outside of the castle, through the wall, directly into a back room of the forge. He had gotten there early so he was there when the cart was pulled up and could start working right away. Meaning he was pulling the door back into the frame and locking it behind him not to long after the others had started to appear to start the work day.

Walking over to his work bench he started to sort through some things, carefully placing one of his creations in his bag, before just killing time by organizing the rest. There wasn't much to do, since it was mostly organized already, and he was just finishing up when he saw Jason walking towards the forge.

"You know you don't have to come, right?" Leo glanced over at Jason when he reached him. "I'm sure you would rather spend your day off doing pretty much anything but this."

"This is exactly where I want to be," Jason assured, and without looking up Leo knew he was smiling at him. "I asked for someone to cover me today specifically so that I could go with you, as long as you still want me to."

"Alright," Leo still felt slightly bad that this was how Jason was spending his time. He didn't protest anymore though, knowing that Jason was dead set on insisting he didn't mind. So instead he just grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and moved around the bench to join Jason on the other side.

"Ready?" Jason raised an eyebrow, and Leo simply nodded in agreement, starting to lead the way to the front of the forge.

Without a word Leo turned to head towards the nearest exit from the castle grounds. His normal energetic charisma was gone as he walked, not really feeling up to it. Normally no matter how he felt he could pretend like he fine and act like normal. Put on a smile and play the part, but not today. Especially not right now.

Still, he was desperate to take his mind off of everything, so as they approached the gate, he glanced over at Jason "So, has the prince dragged you into any trouble yet?"

Jason laughed slightly at that, before shaking his head "No, not yet. Though he's tried a few times."

"That's a shame," Leo replied, smiling slightly and doing his best to sound like his normal enthusiastic self "Some trouble would probably do you some good."

"Maybe," Jason conceded, before shrugging "With the princess as well I'm sure it will happen sooner or later."

"Really?" Leo asked raising an eyebrow a bit as he looked over at him.

"I mean, it's different from the way the prince is," Jason shrugged as he thought about it "She doesn't just disregard rules the way Percy does, but there is a way she talks that makes it clear she wants to break them. She is just waiting for the right moment. I'm not really sure if I'm explaining it right, but it's different. With Percy, it's that he doesn't know all the rules- or he doesn't care about some of them because of how he grew up, but it's not breaking the rule itself he cares about. The way Piper talked it seemed like breaking the rule _was_ the reason for doing it for her, rather than doing whatever it is she's not supposed to be doing."

"And I take it she's pretty as well?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at Jason. A small smirk settled on his face as he did so. He could hear the clear admiration in Jason's voice, even if the other boy had no idea that it was there.

"Well yes, but it's not like that," Jason rolled his eyes as he noticed the smirk on Leo's face "I just think she's nice to spend time with. I think her and the prince will be happy with each other."

"Whatever you say Jace," Leo said, shrugging a bit though the smirk remained for a moment as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"What about you? Whatever happened with Hazel?" Jason asked, and Leo knew that it was at least partly to get off of the subject of Piper, partly just to keep the conversation going in general so that they could keep their minds off where they were going.

"It got a bit more complicated than I had anticipated," Leo admitted, shrugging a bit. Jason was the one person that knew the truth about him, and he knew he wouldn't care or say anything about Hazel, but it wasn't his place to say. It was Hazel's secret, not his. "I think she's more interested in Zhang."

"I'm sorry," Jason sighed a bit, but Leo just shrugged it off as if it didn't really matter. He was disappointed, but he had seen it coming.

"It's fine, no big deal." He had only know Hazel for about two weeks anyway, and besides, things like that never seemed to work out for him "I'm going to keep trying, but prospects don't look good."

"Still, sorry to hear it," Jason replied, before falling into silence for a moment.

The rest of the walk was a short one, filled with random bits of conversation. All to soon Leo saw the church come into view, and even sooner after that they had reached the grounds. Taking a deep breath, Leo pushed open the creaky gate, Jason close behind him but letting Leo lead the way. Once he reached a place near the edge of the graveyard, Leo knelt down, looking at the stone in front of him.

Esperanzo Valdez

Carefully Leo took off the bag he was wearing and pulled out an intricate metal flower. He had spent weeks making it, using almost every scrap of material he had left and almost all of his free time, but it was worth it. The flower was perfect. Slowly he reached forward to lay the flower in front of the simple marker.

Then his hand fell to his side. He didn't say anything as he looked at the marker in front of him, the flower leaning against it. Despite his earlier insistence that he didn't have to come, Leo did find some reassurance from the slight pressure of Jason's hand on his shoulder.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Friday afternoons were the worst part of Percy's week. They were the part where his father somehow tested the progress he had made during the week. Best case scenario, he set him to some sort of sword fight or riding challenge, but the more Percy did well with those the less they seemed to come. Honestly he was debating starting to fail a few just so he got more of them over the stupid history or strategy tests.

To be fair, Percy had known basic math and how to read prior to all of this, but he had never been good at it. Reading just didn't come easily to him, no matter how hard he had tried to figure it out. Math was a little easier, but he had had little to no reason to use it before, so he didn't have a tone of practice.

Realistically Percy did understand the point of testing him regularly. The king needed to know how far along he was, and the only real way to do that was to test his ability. They were more skill checks then actual tests, but Percy couldn't help but feel nervous about them. Even though logically he knew it wasn't likely, part of him couldn't shake the feeling that if he didn't do well maybe the king would realize this had been a mistake and it would all fall down around him.

So when he had arrived at his father's study, he was hoping that the guard outside the door would send him out into the yard to wait for the king. Instead the man just nodded to him, before entering the room to inform Poseidon that he was there. A few seconds later the guard was back, holding open the door for Percy to enter.

Taking a deep breath, Percy straightened his posture as much as possible, before stepping forward to enter the room. Upon entering, Percy turned his attention to Poseidon, nodding to him for a moment, before simply turning to head towards the extra desk at the side of the room. Upon reaching the desk though, he found that it was empty, and so with confusion he turned back to the king, not saying anything as he waited for him to explain.

"There will be no test of your progress today," He said simply, voice deep and powerful. Sometimes Percy wondered if his voice was going to sound like that someday, and he couldn't decide if he wanted it to or not "Have a seat Perseus. For today we will merely do an oral check of your progress."

Percy was surprised, but he wasn't about to protest. He eyed his father for just a moment, before moving to take the seat he had been offered. Poseidon did not sit, instead pacing about the room as he began to speak again "Instead of a test today I want you to meet a group of guards a the stables tomorrow at noon. Dress plainly, but prepared to fight if need be. There will be no need to bring your guard with you. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir, but why-" Percy started, looking at Poseidon in confusion, but before he could even finish the question the man was speaking again.

"Good. Now, what have you to say about how your lessons have been going?" Poseidon paused in his pacing to turn back to Percy as he asked the question, looking at him as he waited for the answer.

For a moment Percy hesitated, wondering if this was somehow some sort of trap, but decided there was nothing to do but answer honestly "I managed to beat Jason a little under half the times we spared, but to be honest it wasn't always done in a way my sword master would approve of. Math is still coming better than reading, and I have been doing slightly better in history."

"More than slightly from what Chiron has told me," Poseidon stopped pacing again, raising an eyebrow "Which lead me to believe you were either slacking off before, or something has changed. I do hope it's the latter."

"It is," Percy assured quickly. He hesitated for a moment before speaking "You know how Mr. Chase brings his daughter to work with him pretty regularly to help with tasks like sorting files and to make sure someone is in the library while he is helping you?"

Annabeth did a whole lot more than just sort files and mind the library, but Percy wasn't sure how much Poseidon knew about the whole thing, and he wasn't about to risk getting either Annabeth or her father in trouble. He also didn't want to risk Annabeth not being able to come with her father anymore or something of the like.

"Yes, I know the girl," Poseidon asked, looking slightly confused "What has she got to do with anything?"

"Well, she knows almost as much about history as her father." Annabeth knew more about it than Frederick, but again Percy decided that was probably not a good thought to share "I didn't want to bother Chiron or Mr. Chase, as they are both very busy, so I asked her for help. She has a way of explaining things to me that I understand."

For a moment Poseidon just looked at him, and Percy couldn't help but hold his breath as he waited. Then, the man nodded and moved to start pacing again "Well if it keeps up I may need to hire her as a tutor for you. See if she can help with your other studies as well."

"Yes sir," Percy said with surprise, only just managing to keep himself from grinning at the comment. He was sure Annabeth could help with his other studies, which would mean he would get to see her even more than he did now. It was hard not to grin at the idea of that.

Silently he wondered if Poseidon had any idea they had known each other prior to him coming to the castle. Probably not. The king had been trying to keep him away from anything related to his past. That was why he had to keep slipping out, the only reason he had relented to letting him go into town with Piper was because she had wanted it.

"And how are things going with Princess Piper?" It was as if Poseidon had read his mind. Except, the look the king gave him told Percy that this had really been what he wanted to ask the whole time.

"Well," Percy couldn't help but feel a little awkward about this whole topic, but he was doing his best to hide it "I'm fairly sure we have become friends, or at least I would consider her one, which according to her is better than most of the other men she's been paired with, even if she doesn't actually love me."

"Good, but it needs to be more than that," Poseidon had stopped pacing all together now and was just looking at Percy "You need to charm her, make her love you. Only that will ensure she won't pull out when she learns the truth, or that she will help convince her mother to still go through with it. Do you understand?"

For the briefest of moments Percy wondered if he should tell Poseidon. If the fact Piper already knew would be good news or bad. He and Piper had agreed to decide when to tell their parents together though, so instead he just nodded "I understand."

"Good," The king nodded again, before waving a little dismissively "Then we are done for today. Make sure you are at the stables by noon tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Percy pushed himself up, and was about to just happily leave the room when something occurred to him. Taking a deep breath he turned back before reaching the door "When do I get to see my mother?"

Of course, Percy had been sneaking out to see her, but he wanted to do it without having to sneak around. More than that, he wanted Poseidon to keep his word about the whole thing. The king just sighed "Perseus- you know we can't risk it while the princess is here. It would raise to many questions and she may figure it out."

"You said I would still get ot see her. You said the quicker I adjusted to life here the sooner and more I could. I've done everything you've asked," Percy insisted, not backing down just yet "It's been over six months."

"Improve the rest of your studies," Poseidon replied, not really seeming overly interested in this "Then we will see."

Percy wanted to push, wanted to argue, but he knew that was the best he would get. Sighing, he reluctantly nodded "Yes father. I will see you at dinner."

A little reluctantly and a little relieved, Percy turned to walk out of the room, only relaxing when he heard the door close behind him.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Friday was one of Annabeth's least favorite days of the week. Not the absolute worst, that was probably Sundays when her father, and by extension her, had the day off, so she was stuck at her house all day. However, Friday was the day Percy had to go speak with his father, which meant that instead of having an hour to spend time with Percy, she had an hour to kill. It was still nice to have a break, and she really didn't mind spending time by herself, but she would rather spend time with Percy.

Still, she supposed it wasn't that bad. When she was younger and her father didn't have anything for her to do, she had started to explore the castle. As a kid Annabeth had been hoping to find some secret passage that lead to some exciting room or hidden treasure, but even on the very rare occasion she had found something it usually just lead to a cobweb filled hallway or abandoned closet. Now that she was older, she found those just as interesting as if they had lead to somewhere more exciting. The way the castle was laid out, the areas that weren't on any of the plans, the design of it. It fascinated her.

The older she had gotten, the more work her father had given her, and so the less free time she had to explore. Now though, she had an hour a week, during which time her father thought she was helping Percy. Most of that time was spent just wandering around back areas of the castle, peeking behind tapestries and pulling at random doors, almost always just to find a supply closet, or nothing interesting at all.

So, Friday afternoons found her wandering around, jigglin handles and carefully looking behind paintings. She was just peeking inside what appeared to be yet another supply closet, when she heard the distinct clicking of high heels coming down the hall. It couldn't be a servant, they wore soft soles so they could slip in and out of a room without being noticed, and she couldn't think of any reason a noble woman would be down there. Which meant the most likely person was Miss Dodds.

Sighing Annabeth debated if she could slip into the closet and pretend like she wasn't there, not in the mood for a lecture. It wasn't the first time Miss Dodds had caught her, and she always went on a long speech about how this area was out of bounds for her and how she couldn't just go poking around where ever she like, before threatening to tell her father. If the footsteps were close enough to be heard though, it was probably too late to hide.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth prepared her excuse, before stepping back out of the closet, expecting to see the pinched face of the woman coming down the hall towards her. Instead, she was surprised to see the beautiful face of Princess Piper. For a moment Annabeth just looked at her in surprise, but as quickly as it had come she had shoved away the shock and stepped to the side of the hallway, head bowed. Her brain was spinning with questions, but she just waited for Piper to approach, before curtsying slightly, expecting the other girl to simply walk past her.

However, the footsteps stopped in front of her. There was a moment of silence, before simply "Annabeth? Right?"

That just made Annabeth more confused, but coming out of the curtsy she nodded "Yes my lady-"

Silently she wondered if 'my lady' was correct. She should probably have said 'Your Highness' or something, but she hadn't really thought about it. It felt weird to be calling someone her age by any title at all. The only nobles Annabeth had ever really talked to were a lot older than her, except Percy of course but he didn't count. It wasn't like a lot of kids her age went to visit the court historian. Either way, it was too late to change it now.

"It's alright, you can relax," Piper assured, which prompted Annabeth to look up at her "You're helping Percy with his studies, right? He told me a little about you, which is how I knew your name."

"Yes my lady," Annabeth repeated, head still spinning. Despite answering one question, it opened up a lot more. What had Percy told her? Did she know about before the castle? Why was Piper there?

For a moment Piper just looked over at her, before giving her a small smile "I don't suppose you know how to get back to the main part of the castle? I just intended to stretch my legs a bit, but I'm afraid I've grown rather lost since then."

Annabeth looked over at her for just a moment, before nodding "Yes my lady. I was about to start heading there as well."

Well, she had been pushing off doing so, but really it was about time she did. Her father would start getting annoyed if she didn't get back soon.

Not sure if she should say anything else or not, Annabeth hesitated for just a moment, before stepping forward to start back down the hall. She couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable. She knew Piper was about her age, probably younger. It was one thing to have to call someone older than her 'my lady' and curtsy to them and things like that, but with someone her own age it was a lot harder. It just felt weird.

"What were you doing down here? It's pretty far from your father's study or the library," Piper noted, before giving her a quick smile as she added "You don't have to tell me, and I'm not trying to accuse you of anything or say you're not supposed to be here. I'm just curious, and if I'm being honest a bit starved for conversation at the moment."

For a moment Annabeth wanted to just not answer. It was stupid, and petty, but she didn't want to like Piper. It was easier to hang onto the slight hope this wouldn't go through if she didn't like the other girl. After a second thought though, she sighed and giving into her own curiosity. Conversation was the best way to learn more about the princess after all. "The same as you my lady. I had some free time since Pe- the prince had to meet with his father. Which gives me an hour where I normally help him with nothing to do. So I figured I would go for a walk and explore a little."

Piper smiled, and nodded, waiting for a moment before speaking again "Do you do it often? Wander around empty parts of the castle I mean?"

"I guess- when I have free time I mean. I like to poke around in the back areas, find all the spots that have been long since forgotten," Annabeth shrugged a bit. She also just really liked studying the way buildings were laid out but that was far less exciting to talk about.

"And have you found any?" Piper asked, looking over at her, eyes gleaming slightly with excitement "Lost areas of the castle?"

"A few rooms that seem to be forgotten about," Annabeth thought through the things she had found. There was one real thing that was slightly more exciting, but would it matter if she told Piper? After a moment she decided that thought was stupid though. There was no real reason not to tell her, and even if Piper did know, the information wouldn't be much use if she didn't show her where the passage was.

"Also, I found a passage that seems to lead from a spot near the dungeons and lets out near the stables," Annabeth glanced over to see Piper's full attention on her. Part of her couldn't help but feel slightly smug about that, which combined with her excitement over the design of the passageway caused her to press on with what she'd figured out. "I'm not sure I would call it a _secret _passage, but it's not on any of the castle plans. I think it was put in so that if the castle was ever overrun and the nobles taken captive they would just have to slip out of the cells to escape. I'm not sure though, maybe the architect just really wanted to put in a secret passage."

By the time she was done explaining, Piper was smiling widely at the idea of it "So there really are secret passages and things?"

"Well, at least one," Annabeth shrugged "There are also a few abandoned servent passages, but those aren't as exciting."

Before she had finished speaking, Piper had started to move towards the door they were about to pass and pulled it open to look inside.

"What are you doing?"

The question came out before Annabeth could really think about it. It was beyond rude to ask anyone, let alone a princess. However, Piper just looked back and shrugged, still smiling "Well had you ever looked behind that door before?"

"No-" Annabeth admitted, looking at her with confusion.

"Well then there could have been some secret hallway in there, right?" Piper shrugged, grinning in a way that almost reminded her of Percy.

Fuck. Annabeth was getting the feeling that she was actually going to end up liking the princess. A lot.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

It hadn't been particularly hard to get out of her duties for the day. Of course, Piper had waved it away as no trouble at all, but Miss Dodds had put up a bit of a fuss about it. Still, a quick white lie about Piper needing her for something had been enough to make the woman give in. Hazel didn't feel particularly good about that, but resolved to just make up for it the next day by trying to help more than normal.

Leo was waiting by the back gate when she arrived, grinning when he saw her. He was quick to lead the way out of the gate, and soon enough they were surrounded by trees. Hazel couldn't help but smile as they walked along the forest paths, and even if she could have, Leo's energetic conversation and light jokes would have made it impossible.

They had been out for awhile when Hazel noticed someone else walking towards them. That wasn't odd, plenty of people had to use the paths for various reasons. What was odd was that she stopped when she noticed them, crossing her arms and leaning against a tree, waiting for them to approach her. Odder still Leo grinned when he noticed her.

Hazel looked between them in confusion, but before she could voice a question, the girl spoke up, calling over to them, or more specifically Leo "What are you doing so far away from the castle at this time of day Valdez? Aren't you usually hold up in the forge at this hour?"

"Usually, yes, but I'm always happy to find an excuse to leave if it means spending time with a beautiful girl," Leo replied evenly. Hazel was still looking between them with slight confusion, but also felt herself blushing slightly when he said that.

"You never sacrifice blacksmith time to go on walks with me," the girl pointed out.

"Would you like me to?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," She messed up her face a bit at that, making Leo laugh.

He finally turned to Hazel, still grinning a bit "Hazel, this is Nyssa, she's part of the same druid group as me."

"Jesus Valdez, do you tell every pretty girl about that?" Nyssa asked, rolling her eyes.

"I haven't told anyone except her," Leo replied, rolling his eyes in return "Besides, Hazel's not going to tell anyone."

"You're to trusting for your own good," Nyssa shook her head before glancing at Hazel "No offence, but you really could be anyone."

"I understand," Hazel assured nodding a bit at the comment, before adding "But I promise I'm not going to tell."

"I'm sure you believe that," Nyssa replied, and really Hazel couldn't blame her for how sceptical she seemed about all of this. She wouldn't have wanted some random stranger to suddenly know about her secret either.

Leo just rolled his eyes "Excuse Nyssa, she's crazy paranoid about everything."

"It's okay," Hazel assured Leo, and after just a moment of hesitation she reached down and pulled up her sleeve, revealing the mark on her wrist for Nyssa to see "But Leo only told me because my mother was also a druid."

"Your mother?" Nyssa repeated looking at the mark for a moment before back up at Hazel. Leo was just looking over at Hazel in surprise, clearly having not expected her to just show the scar like that. "But not you?"

"I was when I was a kid. Not anymore," Hazel stated matter of factly, lowering her arm and sleeve again.

"Yeah, you are," Nyssa said after a second, looking at her curiously "You can claim you're not, but it doesn't change that if someone found out you had that mark you would be grouped in with us. You're a druid, like it or not."

"Enough Nyssa," Leo replied, rolling his eyes as he did so, and Hazel let out a slight sigh of relief, having had no idea how to reply to that "Did you actually want something or did you just come to annoy me?"

"I didn't come out here looking for you at all, happening upon you was just a happy coincidence," Nyssa shrugged a bit "I'm heading back to camp if you want to come say hello."

Leo seemed to hesitate, before shaking his head "That's alright, I'll be around soon though."

"We can go if you want," Hazel said quickly as she looked over at Leo, the look on his face having made it clear he had wanted to say yes "Or- you can go and I'll go back to the castle. I can find the way from here."

"I'm not going to leave you in the woods," Leo replied, hesitating before adding "Are you sure you don't mind going? It's okay if you don't want to."

"I'm sure," Hazel replied, smiling at him "We just need to be back to the castle a little before dinner so I can help Piper prepare."

"Alright," Leo grinned at her for a moment, before looking back at Nyssa "Lead the way."

Nyssa raised an eyebrow, but if she had any reservations she didn't share them, instead just starting down the path again. A little ways down she veered off, heading deeper into the woods, Leo and Hazel close behind. They walked for awhile, until Hazel finally started to hear the sounds of people ahead, and soon enough the camp came into view.

A boy who was playing near the edge jumped up when he saw them, running excitedly into camp. Nyssa ignored him, though a man coming to meet them only a little ways in, undoubtedly told about their approach from the boy.

"Nyssa," he smiled kindly at her, before looking over at the other two "Leo, nice of you to stop by. And I see you brought a friend with you?"

"She's a druid too," Nyssa replied quickly.

"I'm not," Hazel replied before she could really think about it. Quickly she turned back to the man "Your secrets are safe with me though, you have my word."

He raised an eyebrow, though continued to smile as he looked over at her "Well, either way you are welcome here. Though I will admit I'm curious what could lead to the disagreement, if you are willing to share."

"I- um- it's a bit of a long story-" Hazel replied, though the smile was reassuring.

"One I would be happy to hear," he agreed, but seeming to sense her hesitance added "But first, Leo please get your guest some lunch, you two must be hungry. I'll be around if you wish to find me later to share your story."

"Course," Leo grinned, turning back to Hazel. To her surprise he grabbed her hand.

"Right, thank you," Hazel nodded to the man, before returning Leo's smile. Then he was leading the way farther into camp.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Sally Jackson looked up from where she was sitting, setting the book to the side as she heard the knock at the door. At this hour of night there was only one person who it would be. So she was already smiling before she opened the door to reveal Percy on the other side "You're later than usual."

"I know- I got a little side tracked," Percy replied, grinning as he stepped through the door into the house. Without saying anything else, Sally hugged him tightly for a moment, before stepping back to look at him.

"How is it you seem even taller than the last time you were here?" Sally couldn't help but reach up to ruffle his hair a bit. He was slightly taller than her now, she was sure it wouldn't be long before she had to stand on her toes to reach his hair.

"I'm pretty sure I haven't grown in the last three days," Percy replied, laughing a bit. After a second he moved farther into the house so he could close the door and set his bag down on the table.

"Sit down, I'll make tea," Sally offered, smiling at him for a moment before moving to grab out a kettle, but Percy stopped her before she could get much farther.

"I can't stay long- I told Annabeth I would meet her," Percy had taken out a book and a few packets of tea from his bag to set on the table.

"I see," Sally couldn't help but smile a little more at that, turning back to Percy as she did so "You've been going to visit her a lot lately."

"We're friends," Percy replied, shrugging a bit "And now that I've finally convinced her that me sneaking out of the castle isn't a risk she's more willing to actually meet up."

"Still, that's twice this week," She raised an eyebrow a bit at him "And didn't you say you see her almost everyday now? She helps you with your studies?"

"Which is why I'm going to see her tonight," Percy protested, laughing slightly "The king was actually impressed with how much my studies have advanced. I'm hanging out with her tonight to thank her."

"And I take it whatever else you have in that bag is for her too?"

Sally couldn't help voice became teasing as she asked it. Part of her couldn't help but wonder if Percy really was just this oblivious or if he was trying to ignore his feelings because of everything that was happening. If it was one or the other she hoped it was the former. She supposed there was the chance that him and Annabeth really were just friends, but that seemed unlikely.

"We're celebrating," Percy sounded slightly exasperated at that.

"Alright," She couldn't help but laugh slightly, but let it go, just looking at him for a moment. He seemed so grown up, more than he had seemed only months ago. She hated how much of his life she was missing, but she couldn't let it show, especially not while Percy was there. She knew sixteen really wasn't that young to be away from home, people got married at sixteen, but somehow this felt different.

"The king said he's going to let me see you soon," Percy said after a moment, looking up to smile at her "As soon as I do better in my studies- which Annabeth is going to help me with."

"I'm glad, but don't worry to much about that, these night visits are enough for me," Sally replied, smiling softly at him to try and keep him from worrying.

Part of her couldn't help but wonder if the reason Poseidon was so reluctant was more because of her than anything to do with Percy. The reminder of his missteps, of the summer he had spent with her rather than his wife. Sally wasn't deluded enough to think they would ever be anything again, but maybe Poseidon didn't want to think about the memories. Especially after the queen's death.

They had been young, and in love, or so they had thought. Sally hadn't known he was a prince, she had never seen anyone in the royal family before. All she had known was that he was rich, handsome, kind, and she had felt immediately drawn to him. By the time the truth had come out, they had been completely in love.

"He promised," Percy replied simply, as if that was the end of it, before more seriously adding "Also Piper would like to meet you-"

"I would like that," Sally assured, smiling a bit at him, though she wasn't sure how she felt about the marriage at all. At least Piper seemed nice, and Percy enjoyed spending time with her. Sally wanted more than that for him though. She knew all to well what it was like to take the marriage you had to instead of the one you wanted. "Now go on, you don't want to keep Annabeth waiting."

Percy nodded, moving around the table to hug her quickly again "I love you, mom. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"I love you too," Sally replied, smiling as she hugged him back, waiting for him to pull away before adding "Tell Annabeth that even when you're not around she's welcome to come round if she need a break from her family."

To be honest, she was rather lonely since Percy left, and she loved Annabeth, and missed having her around like she had been the last few years. Plus she couldn't help but feel bad about the whole situation she was stuck in.

"I will," Percy assured, smiling at her for one more moment before turning to duck out the door.

* * *

When Percy noticed the light on in the kitchen, he swore slightly under his breath. Really it wasn't a big deal, but he wa feeling impatient. He didn't want to wait, he just wanted this to all hurry up so he could see Annabeth and they could spend time together, but there was nothing to do but slip into the little alcove and wait.

"You can't keep avoiding this," The voice of Annabeth's stepmother, Andrea, drifted through the window, piquing Percy's interest a bit.

"I'm not avoiding it," Frederick protested, sounding slightly exasperated at that "I just don't think we need to push this. There is still plenty of time before we have to start worrying about it."

"She's sixteen, she's not a child anymore." That made Percy give the conversation his full attention.

"I know how old she is, and I'm not saying she shouldn't be thinking about it, I just don't think we need to push her on it quite yet."

"How old was her mother when you married her?"

Percy caught his breath a bit. Marriage. It shouldn't have surprised him, it made sense. He was being forced to start thinking about being married, and Annabeth was a few months older than him. Some people they knew that were their age were already married, most thinking about it. Still, he didn't like the idea of any of this. He just couldn't picture Annabeth married, it felt wrong, and for some reason made him uneasy.

"Seventeen," Frederick replied, though before Andrea could say anything else he added "And she was eighteen when she died in childbirth. I would prefer not having to worry about losing my daughter to the same for a little while longer."

Percy held his breath a bit, but a moment later let it out when he heard Mrs. Chase, albeit bitterly, say "Alright."

There was another pause before he heard Frederick suggesting they head to bed, leaving Percy to sit, head still spinning as he waited for Annabeth to appear.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

As the night progressed, Percy was doing his best to put the stuff he had overheard to the back of his head. He didn't want to think about it, this was a time for celebration, not for worrying about things like that. He knew he had to address it, that Annabeth had the right to know, but he didn't want to yet. He wanted to enjoy the night.

Unfortunately, Annabeth had always been good at reading him. Maybe the only person besides his mom that was good at reading him. So a rather peaceful silence was broken by her looking over at him curiously "So- what has been bugging you all night?"

They were laying back in the hay again. They had been there for awhile, having first enjoyed the sweets Percy had slipped out for the celebration. He had also brought a lantern with this time, so as Percy looked over he could see the clear curiosity on her face. Despite that Percy just raised an eyebrow and tried to play it off "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you've been thinking about something all night," Annabeth pushed herself into a sitting position "Don't get me wrong, I've really enjoyed tonight, but there's been something nagging at the back of your mind the whole time."

Percy couldn't help but smile at the fact she'd enjoyed herself, feeling his stomach flip slightly. That's all he had wanted, so the idea of ruining it to talk about what he'd heard didn't sound great. Annabeth was stubborn though, and the determination in her stormy grey eyes told him she wouldn't just let it drop. Sighing, Percy pushed himself up to a sitting position as well.

"I overheard your parents while I was waiting for them to go to bed," Percy replied a little awkwardly as he glanced over at her, trying and failing to figure out how to say it "They were talking about you…"

"So?" Annabeth asked, still clearly confused "I assume they talk about me a lot. Andrea says something I did to annoy her and my father shrugs with disinterest or just goes along with whatever complaints she has."

That just made Percy's stomach twist a bit. He didn't understand how anyone could ignore her, and even less how someone could find her annoying. She was the most amazing person he knew.

That wasn't the point though, and shaking his head, Percy refocused his thoughts before speaking. As he did his voice was serious and soft "Andrea was trying to talk your dad into pushing you to get married."

"Is that all?"

Percy looked up,and to his surprise Annabeth was giving him a half smile, the one she gave when she knew something he didn't. For a moment she just looked at him before continuing "And let me guess, the conversation ended with my dad against it, either because than I wouldn't be able to help him at work anymore, or he's worried that I'll die the same way my mom did?"

Percy looked at her with surprise, seeing amusement in her eyes now as she waited for his response. He could tell she already knew she was right, and was just waiting for him to confirm it "How did you…"

"They have been having that same argument since I turned fourteen," Annabeth said, smiling at him softly "The older the boys get, the less she needs me to watch them, and the more she tries to push me out of the way. But thank you, for trying to warn me."

"Fourteen?" Percy asked with slight disbelief as he looked at her. She appeared as calm as ever, which both impressed and slightly annoyed him. It was remarkable how often she did that. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because we were fourteen, and maybe I thought-" She trailed off, shaking her head a bit "It doesn't matter. I didn't want you to worry about it, especially when so far the most that's come from it is Andrea forcing me to spend time with some boy or another for an afternoon. Usually one she thinks can benefit her in some way."

"Thought what?" Percy asked curiously, tilting his head a bit as she looked at her, still processing all of this. Two years. Why hadn't she told him about it? He told her everything, or at least he thought he did. It hurt more than he wanted to admit.

"It's stupid," Annabeth replied, shrugging and finally looking away from him as she said it, starting to play with the hay a bit.

"Nothing you do is stupid," Percy replied without hesitation. He couldn't help but smile slightly when he noticed a smile flicker onto her lips at the response.

"I guess I wasn't really worried about it when it started because at that point there was still a small part of me that though we were actually going to get out of here and go on one of those adventures we talked about, so there wasn't any point. And when we got older-" Annabeth hesitated for a moment before finishing "Maybe I thought it would be weird to bring up. And maybe part of me just wanted to pretend it wasn't happening."

Percy couldn't help but get the feeling that hadn't been what she was going to say, but he didn't press. Instead he just gave her a small smile and took her hand. He felt terrible. He had just wanted to give her a nice night, to thank her for everything she did for him, considering it seemed like there was very little he could do for her in return. Instead he had brought up something she didn't want to talk or think about. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Annabeth assured, squeezing his hand a bit, before he saw her try to push away the thoughts and smiled at him instead "Like I said, they've been talking about it for years. Nothing's ever come from it."

Percy nodded slightly, just looking at her for a moment. The way her blonde hair looked almost gold while illuminated by the lantern light. The bits of hay that had caught in it, somehow making it seem more natural, more beautiful.

So it was with slight reluctance that he reached over to gently pulled out the pieces of hay. Knowing Annabeth, she wasn't going to be looking in a mirror anytime between now and… well who knew how long. Going down to breakfast the next morning with hay in her hair would kind of give away that she'd snuck out, and he didn't want her to get in trouble. When he was done, he just let his hand linger for a moment, before finally dropping it.

"You're beautiful, you know."

It came out before Percy could really think about it, but he found he didn't regret it. Yeah, it was kind of embarrassing to say, especially to Annabeth, but he also felt like it was the kind of thing she needed to hear. He doubted her parents ever said it, and though he knew it wasn't something Annabeth cared all that much about, it had to be nice to hear sometimes. And it was true. She was beautiful.

"I- thanks-" Annabeth replied, laughing slightly, though Percy didn't miss the soft smile that lingered on her face. It was hard to tell in the dark, but he was also pretty sure she was blushing "You're not so bad yourself, Seaweed Brain."

"I hope it's better than 'not so bad', I've had seven months of people trying to make me charming," Percy teased, laughing a bit as he did so "And now you're telling me it's all been for nothing?"

"No, but you were always charming. Now you just seem awkward and like your uncomfortable," Annabeth replied, shrugging as she looked over at him "Don't worry, you play it off well. I don't think anyone else at the castle can tell."

"I'm not sure you're helping now," Percy shook his head as he thought about it "This is what I get for giving you a compliment."

He was teasing, and he knew that Annabeth knew that. She laughed slightly, before shaking her head as well "That's not what I mean. You are handsome, but you always have been, even before they tried to make you charming or whatever. They didn't make you handsome, just changed it to a different kind of handsome, and you don't seem completely comfortable with the changes."

Percy listened, not really sure how to respond. He had never really thought about how handsome he was or wasn't, and he really hadn't thought that Annabeth would have. It surprised him, but not as much as the realization that he was really happy that Annabeth thought he was handsome. Of course, it was always nice to hear from anyone, but there was something about hearing it from her that made it more than just nice.

Luckily, before he had to respond Annabeth spoke again, shrugging a bit "I guess I just preferred the original- because it seemed more like you."

"It is," Percy replied, smiling. He knew exactly what Annabeth was saying, and honestly he agreed "It's the same way you seem more like you out here, with hay in your hair, than when we're at the castle and your hair is all tied up."

"You prefer it when my hair is everywhere and constantly in my face?" Annabeth teased, though she wasn't grinning. Instead she was smiling softly, and Percy knew that she understood what he was saying.

"Yeah, because it's when you're more you," Percy smiled at her in return, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, his hand lingering as he did so "I'm glad that at least one person still sees me the way I really am."

"Me too." Annabeth smiled at him, her grey eyes meeting his.

For a moment they just looked at each other. His thumb gently rubbed her cheek. It just felt like the two of them. As if there was nothing else to worry about. Percy leaned forward, and to his surprise Annabeth did as well.

The kiss didn't last long. Percy would have liked if it lasted longer, but he wasn't about to complain. When Annabeth pulled away, he was grinning, but to his surprise, she wasn't. Instead she looked away from him, and with the shadows the lantern cast on her face, he couldn't read her expression.

"Percy..." She said softly, sighing a bit. He could tell she wanted to say more, but instead she just trailed off, still not looking at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, tilting his head to try and catch her eye, his own grin falling as he did so. She had been kissing him back- or at least, he was pretty sure she had been, so why was she reacting like this?

"We can't Percy," Annabeth sighed, still not really looking at him and instead playing with the hay around her, trying to distract herself, something she usually did when she wanted to ignore what she was feeling or not let it show. Slowly Percy moved to take her hand, not even realizing he was doing it.

"No," Annabeth moved her hand out of his, finally looking over at him, and despite her efforts and the poor lighting, he could tell she was fighting to keep a straight face. The expression sent a slight pang through him "We can't do this Percy. I know you want to pretend like everything is the same, but it's not."

"Annabeth," Percy sighed. His instinct was to take her hand again, to try and reassure her, but she didn't want that, so reluctantly he let his hand fall to the side "I'm still me. I still care about you."

"I know. But you're also a prince now," Annabeth searched his face for a moment, before looking away again "I used to think... Maybe before all of this something could have happened, but now it can't. You're going to marry Piper, or if not her some other noble woman. It's not fair on either of us to pretend otherwise."

Percy looked down. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew she was right. When he had taken the king's deal he hadn't been thinking about having to get married. Really he hadn't thought it through at all. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. You made a choice, and it was your's to make, but you have to understand that there are consequences to it. That the choice affected more than just you," Annabeth sighed, reaching up to tuck a bit of hair behind her ear "I know you want to act like nothing has changed, but even if you haven't, everything else has. You can't keep pretending that it hasn't."

Annabeth sounded so calm, but Percy could hear that she was holding back much stronger emotions. The softness in her normally confident voice, the way she still wouldn't look at him. His stomach twisted, and he couldn't bring himself to look at her either. He hadn't even considered how this decision might have affected her. He hadn't thought about how it would affect anyone other than him and his mom. How could he have been so selfish? He had picked being a prince… over her.

There was a long silence. Percy had no idea how to respond, to express how sorry he was, how much at that moment, he wished he could go back. Instead, it was Annabeth who eventually broke it, pushing herself up, voice still soft "I should go. I'll see you on Monday."

For a moment Percy glanced up at her, and he was surprised to she was giving him a small smile. Then she turned, and started down the ladder, leaving Percy alone. Part of him wondered if he should walk her home, but it didn't feel right, and he was sure Annabeth was more than capable of making it home on her own.

Instead, he just laid back in the hay, looking up at the stars. His head was spinning, as guilt and anger at himself swirled inside. How could he have been so incredibly stupid?


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"So where did you say we going again?" Jason asked, knowing full well Leo hadn't actually told him to begin with. He was hoping to basically trick Leo into telling him, but of course, his friend was too clever for that.

"I didn't. You'll see when we get there," Leo turned to grin at him for a second, before continuing to lead the way through the twisting back halls of the castle.

Technically Leo wasn't supposed to be in the castle at all, and Jason couldn't help but wonder if the reason Leo had been so insistent on him coming along was because it would give him an excuse if he got caught rather then wanting to hang out like Leo insisted. Or maybe he just wanted someone to show off to. Either way, when he had heard Jason had the afternoon off because the prince was off doing something with his father's men, Leo had jumped on the chance and made sure he had some free time as well.

Now here they were, slipping through back halls of the castle and climbing up yet another set of stairs. Jason had no idea how high they were at this point, but it had to be pretty far up. Which made it all the more surprising when he heard footsteps coming around the corner towards them.

His immediate reaction was to get Leo out of sight, but to his slight annoyance, it appeared his friend was completely unaware of the footsteps. Or maybe he just didn't care. Either way there wasn't enough time for Jason to say anything before the footsteps had turned the corner in front of them, revealing Piper of all people. For a moment they just looked at each other in surprise, before Jason bowed, and to his relief Leo did as well.

"Jason, it's a pleasure to see you again," Piper smiled as Jason and Leo righted themselves "Though this wasn't exactly a place I was expecting to find you."

"We could say the same for you m'lady."

Jason instinctively stiffened as he heard Leo next to him. If he had been speaking to anyone else they would be in a lot of trouble. Luckily though, they were talking to Piper, and the girl just laughed and nodded in agreement "Fair enough, though sometimes even princesses need to get out of their rooms and clear their heads. And you are?"

"The reason Jason is wandering around back areas of the castle," Leo replied, grinning a bit before adding "If you mean my name though, that would be Leo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Piper smiled at him, which finally made Jason relax, though he was still making mental notes to never let Leo anywhere near another nobel again, except maybe Percy. The guy would end up getting himself thrown in the dungeon.

"What are you two doing here then?" Piper asked curiously, and Jason had finally gotten over his surprise at Leo's response enough to answer.

"I wish I knew, but my friend here refuses to tell me," Jason said, mock glaring at bit as he looked at Leo, which just made the other boy smirk more.

"I would be happy to tell you m'lady, but I'm afraid if I did that Jason here would also hear," Leo replied, still grinning as he looked over at her "So we would have to walk a little away from him, or if you would rather you could just join us."

Jason wanted to smack Leo. He couldn't understand how he could be so relaxed around the princess. Sure Jason had relaxed around her, but that was after he knew it was appreciated not at the first meeting. It didn't make any sense to him. Maybe it was just because Leo had never really been around nobles before, only seeing them for very short periods of time.

"Now you've piqued my interest enough that I feel like I have to know, if I wouldn't be imposing," Piper laughed slightly as she looked between them, causing Leo to grin again.

"Not at all." Without waiting for her to say anything else Leo moved to start down the hallway "If this works, the more people that see it the better. If it fails- well than we can all laugh about it."

Leo lead them up two more flights of stairs, before they finally popped out into one of the lower towers. They were nowhere near the top of the castle, but they were still pretty high up.

"This better be worth it Valdez, that was a lot of stairs," Jason teased, taking a deep breath as they finally reached the outside. He was only slightly winded, but that didn't mean he enjoyed climbing stairs.

Instead of responding, Leo just knelt down to start pulling things out of his bag, while Jason walked over to glance over the edge for a moment. Than he turned his attention back to Leo, leaning on one of the short walls as he did so. As he watched Leo pulled out a few different metal and cloth pieces and started to fit them together. When he was done he pushed himself up and proudly showed them the contraption.

"You're going to throw it off the tower and hope it doesn't crash," Piper guessed, before raising an eyebrow a bit "Though I have no idea why you are going to do that."

"It's to send messages from one tower to another," Leo explained, motioning to the small bucket he'd hooked up to it "This is just a prototype, but the idea is that it will fly directly from one tower to another so messages can be sent from one side of the castle to the other faster. I may end up needing to implement a string that runs between the towers, but I want to try a free flying contraption first. A string is far too easy to cut."

"Don't you think you should have try at a shorter height first?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow a bit "So if it doesn't work it won't be completely broken?"

"What fun is that?"

Jason knew he likely couldn't argue with that, and in the end it was Leo's to brake if he wanted, so he just nodded for him to continue.

Leo glanced between them to assure they were ready, before grinning and raising his hand to throw his device "Test flight one is a go."

The metal contraption shot out of Leo's hand, and for about thirty seconds Jason thought it might work. The contraption was floating along towards the opposite tower. Then the wind blew, and all of a sudden it was heading in another direction, and it quickly crashed into a wall. His eyes watched as the metal crashed to the ground below.

"That's a shame, for a moment there I thought it might work," Piper sounded a little disappointed, but mostly sympathetic.

In fact, she seemed more disappointed than Leo, who just shrugged, smiling a bit as he turned back to them "Worked longer than I expected actually. This was the first run, I thought it was going to just fall right away. Time to go get the pieces and get to tinkering again."

Still grinning he turned to head back towards the stairs and start down them again "Come on- once I gather the pieces you guys can help me fix it. Or we can do something else if that doesn't sound like how you want to spend your afternoon."

Smiling, Jason pushed himself off the wall to follow Leo, falling into step next to Piper, who was laughing slightly. Looking over at him, she raised an eyebrow "He doesn't get discouraged easily, does he?"

"Not in the slightest," Jason agreed, laughing, and looking forward at Leo, who was already a little ways ahead of them in his excitement. Or maybe he was scared that someone would throw away his metal if he didn't get there fast enough "Never actually. He's going to be tinkering on this until he either figures it out or gets distracted by another project."

"How long does that usually take? For him to get distracted I mean," Piper asked curiously.

"Usually about two weeks, but it depends on how long it took him to come up with the idea and how much work he put into the original design," Jason shrugged, "We better hurry up before he gets to far ahead. Chances are he'll end up getting sidetracked and finding his way into some sort of trouble."

Despite his words there was fondness in his voice. Piper nodded in agreement and, both smiling a bit, they hurried to try and catch up to Leo.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

For once Annabeth wasn't stuck at the desk dealing with the annoying lords and nobles. Instead, her father was there, having asked her to instead start sorting through various texts and get them back in the correct order on the shelves. She couldn't understand how they got so messed up when the system was simple, and yet here she was, shifting around the books. Honestly she wasn't sure if she preferred this tediousness or dealing with assholes.

"Annabeth, could you come here please? You have a visitor." Annabeth blinked a bit in surprise. The only person she could think of that would be there for her was Percy, but why would he show up here? She was supposed to go meet him in about an hour anyway.

Frowning in confusion, she slipped the book she had been holding into its place on the shelf, before turning to make her way back towards the front of the room. As she came around the last bookshelf, she stopped, finding Piper standing there. Immediately she dropped into a curtsy for a moment, bowing her head "Your highness, what can I do for you?"

Honestly Annabeth didn't think Piper cared that much about formalities, but she was sure her father would give her a lecture about it if she hadn't shown the proper respect. Piper just looked over at her and smiled a bit, though it didn't seem quite genuine "I was hoping you could help me with something, if you aren't busy?"

"Of course my lady, I wasn't working on anything that can't be finished later." She had no idea what Piper wanted, but she was fairly sure it would be more entertaining than sorting books "I am supposed to go help the prince with his studies in about an hour though."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Piper assured, nodding, before turning back to thank her father for his help.

As soon as they were out of the room Piper's smile dropped. She looked over at Annabeth, before sighing and coming to a stop to look at her fully. Still confused, Annabeth did the same, waiting for Piper to speak.

"Percy said you knew each other before he found out about his father." This had not been where Annabeth was expecting it to go, and her immediate thought was that somehow Piper had found out about Friday night and was going to confront her about it. Instead Piper followed the statement up by asking "You two are friends, right?"

"Yeah, he's my- my best friend-" Annabeth said with slight surprise. Maybe they were more than that, or at least they would have been, but getting into the confusion that was her and Percy right now, and with Piper of all people, didn't seem like a good idea. Or like something she wanted to do.

"Good," Piper sighed again, "Something is wrong. I haven't seen him since Saturday morning. He was supposed to come to my room to take me to dinner that night but he never arrived. Yesterday I went to his room to see what was the matter, but Jason merely said Percy didn't want any visitors. I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out what to do and coming up blank. This morning I remembered the look he got when he mentioned you and I thought- that maybe he would be willing to talk to you."

When she had said something was wrong, Annabeth had immediately thought of the kiss again, but that didn't make sense. That was Friday night, and she had said he was fine at breakfast on Saturday. Concern filled her. There were only a few times when Percy had completely shut down, and those times terrified her. What the hell could have happened?

"I- I can try-" Annabeth wasn't completely sure what she could do, but she had to try. It was taking a lot for her to not just turn and hurry off to Percy's room without waiting for Piper.

"Thank you," Piper let out a breath "I think it will be better if I don't accompany you. I just- wanted to let you know."

"Of course, thank you my lady," Annabeth said, nodding a bit to her in return. Piper looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she just nodded, and as soon as she did, Annabeth turned and was heading down the hallway.

Her head spun to figure out what was going on. Was it something to do with Sally? That was what it had been last time, and for a moment even more concern filled her, worried about the woman.

That didn't make sense either though. She knew Percy would sneak out to see his mother, but he wouldn't have done it in the middle of the day, and not two days in a row. It must have been whatever his father had sent him to do. That was the only thing that made sense with the timeline. But what could he possibly have done that was bad enough to make Percy hide in his room?

Her brain was still spinning when she reached the door, finding Jason standing outside it. When he saw her, he raised an eyebrow a bit "Annabeth? You're early-"

"Yes, but I need to talk to Percy," Annabeth replied, trying to appear as composed and calm as usual.

"He doesn't want to see anyone," Jason sounded a bit awkward at that "He hasn't been feeling well the last few days."

"Jason- please, just ask him," Annabeth sighed a bit as she looked over at him. At first she thought he was going to deny the request, but to her relief Jason nodded and turned to enter the room.

For a moment Annabeth was left alone in the hallway, trying to figure out how she was going to get around Jason if Percy didn't want him to let her in. Normally she wouldn't be to worried about that, but given the weekend, what if he didn't want to see her?

Despite her worries, Jason reappeared about a minute later, and moved to hold the door open for her. Annabeth let out a sigh of relief, softly saying "Thank you," before entering.

Percy was sitting on the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees and looking down at the ground, though when he heard the door close he glanced up and gave her a small smile, though it was clearly forced "Hey-"

"Hey."

He was still wearing his pajamas, and based on the plate of food on the side table it didn't seem like he'd eaten, at least not yet today. It had been a long time since she had seen him this bad. She couldn't tell if he was angry or upset, but based on the surroundings and what Piper said it had to be one of the two. He would carry those emotions around with him till it got to a point where it all came out at once. Which mean she had to try and stop it from getting to that point.

Annabeth bit her lip a bit, before making her way over to the bed. Sitting down, she looked over at him for a long moment "Are you alright?"

For a moment she wasn't sure he was going to respond. He was looking at the ground again, and part of her worried he was mad at her or upset about what had happened in the barn. That he wouldn't want to talk to her. But he had let her in after all, and after a moment he finally spoke, voice barely above a whisper "No."

"What's wrong?" She moved to slide her hand into his without really thinking about it, sighing a bit when she felt him tense, knowing that he was debating pulling it away. In the end he let it be, but he didn't respond.

"I- I'm not mad, or upset, if you're worried about that. What happened was as much my fault as yours. I don't know if you're mad at me for leaving, and it's okay if you are, but I'm not mad at you. And you're still my friend, my best friend, I don't want that to change." Honestly Annabeth wasn't completely sure what she was saying, or if it would help, but she squeezed his hand a bit as she finished "Please Percy, talk to me."

Had she ruined everything? Everything she had said was true, and it had needed to be said, but she hadn't meant it to ruin things. They couldn't be more than friends, but that didn't mean she didn't want to still be friends. Percy had talked a lot recently about not wanting to lose her, but she wasn't sure she could afford to lose him either.

"I met my father's men at the stable like I was supposed to," he said softly, squeezing her hand a bit as he did so. It was clear he was struggling to talk about this, and that just made her all the more worried. "They took me into the woods- wouldn't really tell me what was going on, I'm not sure why. Maybe because they thought I wouldn't have gone with them or tried to stop them- which I would have. At least, I hope I would have."

"Percy, what happened?" Annabeth pressed, shifting a little closer so her arm was touching his. With most people it would have been rude to push, but when Percy shut down like this, the best thing was to get him talking. If you didn't he would just sit with his emotions, not wanting to bother anyone with them. "Did they do something to you?"

"Not to me." Percy closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and Annabeth could tell he was still holding a lot back, that he was struggling to talk about this, but at least he was talking. "We came to a camp, some of the men dismounted, me included, some stayed on their horses. They told me the camp was full of criminals, that the woods was the king's land, and that by setting up camp on it they were breaking the law. I don't think that was the real reason we were there though. If it was, why show up with swords ready to attack, why not just ask them to leave?"

Annabeth didn't say anything, just bit her lip a bit as she waited for Percy to continue. Her stomach twisted a bit as she started to put the pieces together herself, but she didn't want to guess and be wrong, or interrupt him now that he actually was talking.

"I was told to just stay back and watch- that I wasn't there to do anything more than that. At the time I was so confused, I just nodded in agreement, and watched as the men headed into the camp. As soon as they appeared the people started to scatter. Before the soldiers even said anything, the men on the horses were riding out, swords were pulled. The campers didn't seem to want to fight- they were just trying to get away, and the soldiers-" Percy stopped, his free hand clenching a bit. He was angry. That was obvious now, but there was more than that.

It was the same way he used to get when things got really bad with Gabe. Beyond angry at how the man had treated his mom, while at the same time upset by what he had seen. Not to mention guilty that he hadn't done anything to try and stop him.

Annabeth didn't need him to finish for her to put together what had happened. The guards had attacked the people in the camp, and Percy hadn't been able to do anything but stand there and watch while the people got hurt. Biting her lip a bit, she squeezed his hand again "Why were they there? If it wasn't to stop people who were on the king's land?"

"They were druids," Percy said softly, still not really looking at her as he spoke. His guilt was written all over his face now. He was still trying to hide it, but the more he spoke the more the emotions came out, and the more clearly Annabeth could figure out what he was thinking. He had never been as good at hiding them as he liked to believe, at least not to her.

"Hey- you couldn't have stopped them Percy," She said softly, reaching up with her free hand to move some of his hair out of his face. It was an old habit from before when his hair would get longer. Now it was all neatly trimmed, and she found the gesture useless, the hair short enough that it just fell back. "You couldn't have taken on the guards, and if you were there or not the same thing would have happened."

"They killed them Annabeth-" His eyes met hers' for the first time since she'd entered the room. She could see the pain in the deep sea green eyes. Than he looked away, and he took a shaky breath before speaking again "And- and I'll I did was stand there and- and watch-"

"I know," Annabeth said softly, moving to put her arm around him, pulling him close so she could try to reassure him "I know. But that was all you could do Percy. You should be upset, that's a horrible thing to have seen, but you can't blame yourself for not doing anything."

Percy didn't reply, just leaned into her and wrap his arms around her as well, his forehead resting on her shoulder. It should have been awkward given how much taller he was than her, but it wasn't, and even if it was that wasn't what Annabeth was thinking about. Instead she just kept her arms around him tightly rubbing his back and mumbling reassurances. She wished there was something more she could do, but really that was all there was.

It was a while before Percy finally pulled away, raising his hands to wipe at his eyes. Annabeth hadn't even realized he was crying, but she supposed it made since for him to be. She was upset just thinking about it, she couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for him to see it. To watch as the guards killed people for no real reason.

Taking a deep breath, Percy looked down at the bed for a moment, before softly saying "I don't want to do this Annabeth- I don't think I can- order people to do stuff like that. If this is what being a prince is- being a king will be- what I'll end up becoming- I don't want to do this"

"Hey- Percy, look at me," She gently raised her hand to lift his chin a bit to try and meet his eyes "That was your father, not you. You are going to have to make hard decisions- and sometimes it might lead to people dying, but you are a good person Percy. You would never have made that order."

Gently she reached up to run a hand through his hair without really thinking about it, hoping the physical contact would help keep him focused on what she was saying and not his thoughts "You said part of the reason you wanted to do this was to help your mom and the people in town. It seems to me you just found more people that need your help."

Slowly, Percy nodded a bit, and to Annabeth's relief he did seem to be calming down slightly now, looking at her for a long moment again "I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to be sorry. It's fucked up, and you shouldn't have had to see it," Annabeth assured, squeezing his hand to reassure him "But the reason he sent you was because the king thinks it's something you need to get used to seeing. You shouldn't get used to it. So you need to pretend like you're okay. The sooner he thinks you're okay with it, the less he will be trying to press you to be."

"I know- it's just- it's hard," Percy sighed a bit, looking away from her again and taking a deep breath again before speaking "And I'm sorry about- about all of this- I didn't really realize until the other night how much this has affected you too. I didn't think it would affect anyone except me and my mom. I should have thought about it before I agreed-"

"It's okay Percy," Annabeth, sighed, but squeezed his hand again, and gave him a small smile "Like I said, it was your decision to make. I'm glad you made it."

Despite her words, it had hurt a bit when he made the decision without even talking to her. She understood why. As soon as Poseidon had offered to help his mom Percy's decision had been made, but that was exactly the type of stuff they were supposed to talk about. She was glad that Percy had made the decision on his own, not really sure what she even would have told him, but she wished he had at least come to her to talk about it.

Slowly Percy nodded, giving her a small smile in return and squeezing her hand back "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad I am too," Annabeth said, smiling a bit more as she thought about it "I meant what I said. You're still my friend Percy, I still care about you. If you need me I'm going to be there."

"Thank you," Percy nodded in agreement, and he didn't have to say it for Annabeth to know he would be there for her as well "I- would you mind staying a little longer then?"

"Of course."

Smiling a bit, Annabeth moved a little closer to him, just squeezing his hand as she sat, letting Percy direct where he wanted the conversation to go.


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Being the apprentice of the master of horses had its advantages. The nicest one was that he was trusted to exercise the horses that were not ridden regularly, and he could do so pretty much whenever he wanted as long as he wasn't supposed to be doing something else. As long as the horses weren't going to be used the next day, Frank could take them out "for exercise". Half the time he was even thanked for doing so.

So it had been easy to get two horses that he could borrow for a few hours. Hazel had been beyond excited when she learned what they were doing. It made the few awkward jokes he'd had to endure when he asked for _two_ horses more than worth it.

They had gone on a long ride, and now we're just sitting on a small hill, looking out at the ocean. The horses were tied off to a tree a little ways away, and now they were just sitting. It wasn't an awkward silence, instead it was rather nice. To just sit with someone, with no pressure to have a constant string of conversation.

When Hazel finally did speak, her voice was soft, seeming to float a bit on the air, "I suppose I owe you the long version of the story now?"

"You don't owe me anything," Frank replied, shrugging, his voice soft a well "But I would be lying if I said I'm not curious about it."

Hazel slowly nodded, not saying anything for a moment. Frank glanced over, watching as she looked out at the ocean. She looked remarkably serious, her eyes focused on the waves in front of her. He couldn't help but be impressed with how she seemed able to so easily switch between such intense seriousness and playfulness.

Instead of saying anything, she pulled up her sleeve slowly to show him her wrist. Frank's eyes fixed on the mark, a scar from a clearly deep burn, in the shape of a triple spiral. Slowly, his hand reached over and lightly ran his finger over the smooth scar.

"Who did this?" He said softly, not letting his fingers drop as he asked. It was clear the mark wasn't a mistake or accident. It was to deep for that, to clean cut. Someone had put it there and it had been on purpose, he just couldn't figure out why anyone would.

"My mother. It's a druid symbol, which she believed would bring me good fortune and long life," Hazel slowly pointed to each of the the three spirals as she continued to speak "One for birth, life, and death."

"Why would she do that?" Frank asked in confusion, eyes looking properly at Hazel now rather than her arm.

"Because we were druids, and she was insane. Normally they would have waited till I was older, till I could choose the mark myself, but my mother insisted and everyone else thought she was blessed or something so they relented," Hazel explained, not really looking at Frank as she did so. Her voice was serious, and he could tell she was doing her best to keep her emotions at bay "But I haven't been a druid since I was six years old."

"Six?" Frank asked, frowning a bit as he looked over at her, processing all the information "What about your mom?"

"She died," Hazel shrugged a bit, starting to pull slight at the grass around her "Which is when I stopped being a druid."

"I was raised by my grandmother- I used to hate it when people said they were sorry about my parents," Frank said, looking over at her for a moment before continuing "But still, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I wish she wasn't dead, but I accepted a long time ago that I'm better off without her," Hazel still wasn't really looking at him. Frank was wondering why she kept talking with him, when really she didn't seem like she wanted to be talking about this at all. "Like I said, she was insane. Sometimes she would throw fits which grew violent, but mostly she would just mumble to herself, completely ignoring me. I'd been pretty much raising myself anyway."

Not sure what to say, but wanting to reassure her, Frank slowly reached over to put his hand on her's. At the touch he felt Hazel tense a bit, but she turned her hand over to slip her fingers between his. "I just wanted to explain."

"I understand, and appreciate it," Frank replied, smiling softly at her for a moment, before hesitantly adding "Before- when we were in town, you said your father worked in the stable?"

"Yeah," Hazel nodded a bit at that "When she died the king brought me to the castle and left me in the care of an older couple who worked there. The man worked in the stable. So- he's not my real dad, but at the time that seemed a lot easier to say than explaining the whole situation."

"That's alright, I understand," Frank assured, not really sure what else to say as he looked back out at the ocean.

"So- your grandmother?" Hazel asked after a moment, clearly trying to change the subject "Did she teach you about all this animal stuff?"

"Yeah," Frank agreed, smiling a bit at that "She loved animals. Particularly birds. She would go out into the woods and just listen to them, sketch pictures of them and things."

"That sounds really nice," Hazel said, smiling at him for a moment, before hesitantly asking "Does she not do that anymore?"

"She died," Frank replied, shrugging a bit. He had been expecting the question when Hazel had brought up his grandmother. He still missed her, a lot, but at least it didn't really hurt to talk about her anymore.

"I'm sorry," Hazel replied, squeezing his hand a bit, before softly, possibly in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit, adding "Don't hate me for saying that."

"I don't," Frank assured, looking over to give her a small smile and squeezing her hand in return.

Than the moment passed. Hazel didn't remove her hand from Frank's, but she shifted to lay back. The calmness she normally wore had returned, the seriousness suddenly gone. Smiling slightly, Frank shifted to lay down next to her.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

The light of the candle flickered across the papers Sally was carefully coping. She had to admit, as much as she hadn't been sure about Percy becoming a prince, it was nice to have some extra money to buy extra candles and things, it made getting work done a lot easier.

A knock on the door surprised her, and she looked up in confusion. It was odd for anyone other than Percy to be knocking this late at night, but Percy had just come a couple days before. He wouldn't come back again this soon unless something was wrong.

Setting down the quill, Sally pushed herself up and quickly walked to the door to pull it open. Percy wasn't standing on the other side. Annabeth was. Sally blinked a bit with surprise, before stepping aside to let her in.

Before Sally could speak, Annabeth started to ramble "I'm sorry, I know it's late. I just- Andrea was going crazy and I needed air and then I was just here and I really didn't want to go home yet..."

"It's alright," Sally assured gently, smiling as she looked over at her for a moment, before taking her hand to lead her over to the table "You're welcome here whenever you want. There's no need to apologize. Sit down, I'll heat up some water to make tea, and I still have some cookies that Percy brought last time he visited."

"Thank you," Annabeth gave her a small smile as she moved to sit down at the table where Sally had indicated.

Sally carefully collected the papers she'd been working on and set them to the side. Then she started to heat up the water, before getting the plate with a few cookies on it and going to sit in the seat across from Annabeth "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not a lot to talk about, just Andrea being more annoying than normal," Annabeth replied softly, though she wasn't really looking at Sally as she spoke "It just got to me more tonight then normal."

For a moment Sally just looked over at her, before speaking again "It's been a long time since you've come here because of her. Even before Percy left. She must have really gotten to you today."

Sally didn't know much about the situation honestly, never pushing Annabeth to talk when she didn't want to. It was clear that things were tense with her and her parents though, and she was fairly sure what Annabeth needed was someone to be there for her. The least Sally could do was be that person, in whatever capacity Annabeth wanted her to be. Even if that meant just sitting and listening and making tea.

Annabeth just shrugged at the comment "She was just in a mood- I'm not sure why. Then I overheard her talking with my dad and I just- I needed to get out for awhile."

"That's understandable," Sally assured, giving her a comforting smile "You're allowed to need a break from time to time. And even if you think it's nothing, I don't mind listening if you want to talk."

"It's just a lot of the same crap as always," Annabeth replied, but after a moment gave in, shrugging a bit as she did so "I'm a brat who doesn't appreciate what she does for me and is always making a big deal out of things in order to get attention. Nothing new."

"You know that's not true, don't you sweetheart?" Sally asked softly, the anger she had already felt building inside her getting worse when she just saw Annabeth sort of shrug and half heartedly nod in return. She pushed it down though, that's not what was needed right now.

After a moment Sally sighed, and softly added "What did your father say?"

"He didn't hear, or if he did he ignored it," Annabeth shrugged a bit again. Sally had to admit she was doing a good job of acting like it was no big deal, and most people probably would have bought it, "It's fine. Nothing I haven't heard before. I'm alright- I just- the fight paired with the conversation she had with my dad- I needed to get out of there for awhile."

Sally nodded, just looking over at Annabeth for a moment. Despite what the the girl claimed she wasn't fine. Sighing again, Sally pushed herself up and went over to get cups and pour out the water. A minute later she was handing Annabeth a cup of tea, but instead of sitting in the seat she had been, Sally took the seat next to her instead. She let the silene hold for a moment longer before softly asking "What was she talking with your father about?"

It wasn't asked to pry, and if Annabeth didn't want to answer Sally wouldn't push it, but sometimes Annabeth needed a push to get her to actually talk about things. To assure her it was alright to talk if she wanted to. After a moment it appeared she did, as Annabeth nodded and started again, voice still softer than normal as she did so.

"Andrea has been taking me to meet potential suitors for awhile now without my dad knowing," Annabeth admitted, "He finally found out. He was more upset that she had been keeping it from him then he was that she was doing it. And when he heard who I had been meeting with for the last few months- he actually sounded excited."

"And you expected him to be upset or angry, if not because of what she was doing then at least because she didn't tell him about it?"

The revelation that Andrea had been actively trying to find someone to marry Annabeth off to did little to calm the growing anger and distaste Sally had towards the woman. God, if they ever actually met Sally would probably end up rattling off an entire speech at her. But that wasn't what Annabeth needed right now, she needed someone to listen to and comfort her rather than a rant. She needed a mom, and that was something Sally could do.

"I just- didn't expect him to be okay with it," Annabeth replied, sighing and looking down at her tea "They've been fighting about it for years and he's always been so against it. I knew eventually he would give in, I just thought it would be a little bit longer before he did. As soon as he heard Luke's name though- that changed things."

"Luke Castellan?" Sally asked with surprise, assuming that had to be the Luke in question. It was the only Luke she knew, and Annabeth nodded a second later, confirming she was right.

Sally didn't know much about Luke Castellan, and what she did know was the things that everyone knew. He was a young man who had started with nothing, living in the streets like so many others. For unknown reasons one of the richest men in town had taken an interest in him, taking him under his wing to teach him how to manage his fortune and make it grow. A fortune that had been, and continued to be, made in secret and likely immoral ways. At least, those were the rumors.

She also knew that Annabeth and Luke had a history together, though not what the full extent of it was, just that they had been close when they were was before Percy and her had become friends though, something had happened before that point that drew her and Luke apart. At first she had mentioned him once or twice, but pretty soon after meeting Percy she had stopped talking to him all together. Right around the same time he was taken in by the man in town and the rumors had started.

Whatever had happened though, it hadn't been good. That much had been clear even with her limited knowledge of it.

"Does your father know what happened between the two of you?" Sally asked gently, purposefully phrasing it in a way so Annabeth didn't have to tell her what it was that had happened. It didn't matter.

"No. He knows we were friends, but not anything more then that," Annabeth shrugged a bit, still looking down at her tea rather then at Sally. "He never really paid attention to who my friends were."

"I'm sorry sweetheart," Sally sighed, placing her hand on Annabeth's arm gently "But I think you should talk to him. It might not work, but it's worth at least trying."

Slowly Annabeth nodded a bit, thought she still didn't seem completely sure about the decision. There seemed to be something else on her mind, but Annabeth didn't bring it up and Sally didn't press. Instead Annabeth just looked over and gave her a small smile "Thank you. Seriously. I know it's late, and you were probably getting ready to sleep. I'm sorry for bothering you I just really didn't want to go home and wasn't sure where else to go."

"There's no need to thank me, or apologize. You are welcome here whenever you want and for as long as you wish to stay," Sally assured, smiling at her and squeezing her arm again "I have a whole extra room now, and it's yours whenever you want it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Annabeth assured, giving her a small smile for a moment as well, before turning back to her tea.

Sally smiled at her as well, looking at her for a moment after Annabeth turned away before finally turning to her tea as well.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Hey," Leo grinned as he slid into the seat across from Hazel. "You want to go on an adventure?"

Hazel looked slightly surprised at that, which just made Leo grin a bit more. He liked surprising people, sometimes you needed to create some excitement in other people's lives, life could be so boring. After a moment though she nodded "Can I finish my sandwich first?"

"If you must," Leo grinned "Just make it fast or we won't have time- I only have till the end of lunch before I have to be back out in the forge."

"I'm just impressed they actually let you eat inside today," Hazel teased, grinning at him, but to Leo's relief starting to eat her sandwich a bit faster.

"Since I covered for Christopher so much they're making him repay the favor now that he's back," Leo said, shrugging "Which is just in time, because I have a new model of my invention to test."

"Oh? And do I get to know where we're going or what said invention is?" Hazel asked, finishing up her sandwich and pushing herself up to put the plate away.

Leo waited for her to return, swinging on his bag as he did so, and grinning as he started towards the side door with her "Of course not- that would ruin part of the adventure. I've already told you to much- now, after you m'lady."

He held open the door, and he couldn't help but grin a bit more when he saw the smile and slight shake of her head as she stepped out of the room and into the hallway, Leo falling into step next to her. "So- how are things? I haven't seen you around for the last few days."

"I've been busy," Hazel replied, shrugging slightly at that "The king has been coming up with things left and right for the prince and princess to do together- so I've been helping Piper a lot, and Miss Dodds is still giving me random jobs to do."

"I met the princess," Leo said, smiling a bit as he thought about it "Little over a week ago- Jason and I were actually going to test model one of this invention and we ran into her."

"She told me," Hazel smirked a bit at that and raised an eyebrow at him "So I take it we're going up into one of the towers so you can throw some metal contraption off the top of it?"

"I see my reputation has made this adventure a little less exciting," Leo said, laughing a bit and raising an eyebrow as he looked over at her "Knowing the end result, do you still want to come with me the rest of the way?"

"Well I suppose I should see this flying contraption for myself," Hazel shrugged, though she was still smiling "Besides- it sounds a hell of a lot better than running around to complete Miss Dodds's chores."

"Brilliant, because you're my excuse in case we get caught, I'm not really supposed to be in here," Leo winked at her, grinning when Hazel laughing at the comment.

"Well, it's good to know I'm useful for something," she teased in return, and raising an eyebrow at him.

"You're good for a lot more than that," Leo assured "You also bring me food when I'm stuck outside, and keep me company when I'm bored out of my mind."

"I suppose that's all true," Hazel agreed, laughing as she nodded a long "And let's not forget that I am great at raising the tension by freaking out about stupid things like a bracelet. It's great for dramatic exits and keeping life exciting."

"Well- I wouldn't exactly say that was stupid," Leo was grinning as he said it. He meant it, it really wasn't stupid, but he knew it was said as a joke and he took it as such "You're right though, it really did add some excitement to my week."

"Good- because that was my plan. I hope your test flight today is enough to return the favor, because you owe me big time for it."

"I suppose that depends on how far it makes it," Leo laughed, shifting his pack on his back a bit as he thought about it "Or how spectacularly it fails- that could be pretty entertaining to watch too. Suppose it depends on your perspective."

"Either way, I'm sure it will be fun to watch," Hazel assured "Though I'm inclined to hope for the first option."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, this is only the second test flight."

"Yeah well- I have faith in you," Hazel assured, grinning at him for a moment, before starting to walk a little faster "Come on- we only have a little while before lunch is over."

Grinning, Leo hurried as well to lead the way.

* * *

It did not go nearly as well as Hazel had hoped. Leo insisted that for a second test flight it had gone really well, making it almost half way before it started to fall. Initially Hazel had been disappointed, but Leo's excitement was contagious, and by the time they started down the stairs again, she was grinning along with him as he listed of adjustments he was going to have to make.

"I think if I make the gliding part out of something more stable than cloth the wind won't take it as easily-" Leo considered, looking completely relaxed as they made their way back towards the kitchen.

"Maybe out of leather?" Hazel suggested, head spinning a bit as she tried to keep up with Leo's thoughts. The guy could think faster than anyone she knew, and sometimes he was at least ten steps ahead of her.

"That could work- but I don't know if leather would float the same way that cloth does-" Leo mused, and Hazel couldn't help but feel a little proud that she could see Leo considering the idea. "I'm also not sure where I would get leather to test it…"

"I can't help you with that," Hazel admitted, thinking about it too "Otherwise there are different types of fabric- I could maybe get you some stronger ones."

"That would be great- thanks," Leo agreed, looking over to grin at her "I think I need to do a few more tests at shorter distances before going from the tow-"

"Hey, what are you two doing back here?"

The voice made Hazel jump a bit. They had been so caught up in their own conversation that she hadn't heard the footsteps on the floor, and turning she saw two guards moving towards them, likely having come around from a side corridor.

"We were just going for a little walk- we're heading back down to the kitchens now," Leo said easily, smiling as he turned to look at the guards, seemingly completely unconcerned. Hazel wasn't sure that had been the best way to respond, but it was out now, and nothing else to do about it.

"You're one of the blacksmith boys," the taller of the two guards stepped forward, eyes focusing on Leo "You're not supposed to be in the castle at all. What the hell are you doing all the way up here?"

"He was helping me," Hazel spoke up before Leo could say something else, slightly scared that he might just make the situation worse. She liked Leo, a lot, but he didn't seem like the most respectful person "I asked him to help me with moving some things- he was just going back to the forge now."

"And who are you?" The other guard asked, frowning past his moustache as he looked at her "I've never see you before."

Hazel blinked a bit in surprise, before straightening a bit "I am Princess Piper's personal handmaid. I have the freedom to move about the castle as I wish, and my friend was just helping me with something."

The first guard was still watching Leo, seeming to not really be paying attention at all to what Hazel had said "What's in the bag you've got there son?"

"What?" Leo asked in confusion, looking at the guard for a long moment before speaking again "Nothing. Just some old scrap metal from the forge-"

"Hand it over."

"What?" Leo asked again, blinking in surprise as he glanced between the two men "I told you- it's just some old scrap stuff."

"I said hand it over boy."

"There's nothing in the bag," Hazel said quickly, taking a step forward "I told you- he's here to help me. We are running an errand for Princes Piper-"

"No offence, but I don't know you," The guard snapped in return, turning his attention to Hazel for just a moment before looking back at Leo "And I know that you're not supposed to be here. So hand over the bag so I can look through it before escorting you back out of the castle."

"Woah- hey, alright I'll show you the bag, no problem," Leo said, to Hazel's slight surprise. That's when he made the mistake, he raised his hands in a sign of surrender "I don't want any trouble-"

"What the hell is that?"

Hazel glanced over to see what mustache was talking about. On Leo's wrist was the very clear, spiraling black lines of the flame tattoo.

"What?" Leo asked for the third time, before noticing the tattoo. Hazel's stomach dropped, but to her surprise Leo just laughed a bit "Oh yeah- cool right? It's a flame, I got it after I got the job here. Thought it was fitting for a blacksmith- I'm thinking about gett-"

The man wasn't listening. Instead he grabbed Leo's wrist, pulling the boy forward a bit, and pulling the sleeve back to look at the marking. Hazel felt frozen to the spot. She wanted to do something, say something, but clearly the guards didn't care about what she said. Her brain told her to go find Piper, that she would help, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to move. She couldn't just leave him.

"Does that look familiar to you?" Mustache was holding Leo's wrist, turning it slightly to show it to the other, who raised an eyebrow a bit.

"That's the same marking that one of those druids we rounded up last week had-" The taller of the two looked at the marking for a moment, before looking back up at Leo. Hazel was frozen. Her instinct was to make sure her own wrist was covered, but there was no reason to draw attention to it. She had to help, but all she could do was stand there. "What exactly are you doing with a druid marking boy?"

"What are you talking about?" To Leo's credit he did seem legitimately confused. If Hazel didn't know he was lying she would have probably believed him. "It's just a tattoo-"

While Leo was focused on the taller of the two, Mustache had dropped his wrist to grab the bag that was hanging off of one of his shoulders instead. Leo didn't protest now, letting him take the bag. For a moment the man just looked inside it, before, turning to nod at his partner, who grabbed Leo's upper arm.

"Alright boy- you're coming with us."

"Wait!" Hazel finally snapped out of it as she looked between them, hesitating for a moment before continuing "He is a personal friend of Princess Piper, if you don't leave him alone you are going to regret it."

"We don't answer to your princess," Mustache replied, still gripping the bag "We answer to the king, and he's going to want to known about this."

"You can't just-"

"Hazel," Leo was the one that cut her off, looking back at her, more serious than she had ever seen him before "It's fine. Go find Piper- or Jason- they'll be able to help."

Before he could say anything else, the guard was pulling him down the hallway, and Hazel found that she was stuck on the spot, watching. Still, she managed to nodded a bit "I will- we'll figure this out-"

Then they disappeared around the corner. Hazel just stood for a moment, before taking a deep breath. Turning, she hurried down the hall.


	32. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

"As the w- war be- between the two king- doms came to a c- close the qu- quee-" Percy cursed slightly under his breath as he looked down at the book. This whole thing hadn't been going great, but at least he had been able to come up with all the words so far.

"Queen," Annabeth said softly next to him, which just made Percy curse again. He knew that word. He had read it dozens of times. In frustration he tossed the book onto the bed, reaching up to rub his face. How could he be this stupid?

"Hey," Annabeth said softly next to him, bumping his shoulder a bit with her own "It's not a big deal- it's a hard word."

"One I've read a dozen times," Percy replied, shaking his head "And yet I'm too stupid to recognize the damn word."

"You're not stupid Percy," Annabeth replied, sighing as she reached over to take his hand, squeezing it a bit "You just have trouble reading. Letters move around- you can't make sense of them. I have the same issues."

"You don't have trouble reading the word queen," Percy muttered. If Annabeth hadn't been able to so accurately describe what it was like for him when he tried to read he wouldn't have believed her. He would have thought that maybe she was just making it up so he didn't think he was as stupid as he suspected he was.

"Because I worked hard to get better at reading- that doesn't mean it's not hard for me to do it, but I can," Annabeth squeezed his hand again "I know it's hard, but you just need practice. I can't just read for you all the time."

"But your voice is so nice to listen to when you're reading," Percy replied, smiling a bit as he looked over at her, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't that he thought it would work, but it was true and he did like to catch her off guard sometimes. Annabeth was really clever, she knew a lot, so sometimes it was good to say something she wasn't expecting.

To his pleasure, Percy saw Annabeth smile a bit at that "Thank you. But you still need to do your own reading. You're getting better at it, you just need practice."

"Can't I just make you my official reader or something?"

"Please, I want a more exciting life than just reading shit for you all the time," Annabeth replied, laughing a bit at that, before smiling at him "Besides, what about when you need to read things in public or something?"

"Fine-" Percy replied, sighing, though he rolled his eyes as well "Can we at least take a break though? My brain is starting to hurt-"

"Fine, but just for a minute or two," Annabeth said, smiling a bit as she shifted on the bed so she was facing him rather than sitting next to him like she had been before "If you don't get done with the chapter before I leave you're going to have to do it on your own."

"Yeah, alright- I swear I just need a couple minutes for my eyes to start focusing right," Percy assured her, smiling as he shifted slightly so he was looking over at her as well "Just a few minutes of not staring at a book."

"Fair enough," Annabeth assured, smiling at him for a moment, though it morphed into a smirk "So, how was your latest outing with the princess?"

The question surprised Percy, as really he had sort of been trying to avoid Piper in the conversation however possible. Mostly he had just been avoiding anything that had to do with the princess when he was around Annabeth, not wanting to make it awkward after everything. It seemed that the way Annabeth avoided it being awkward though was by teasing him about it.

"Fine," Percy rolled his eyes a bit at that, before shrugging as he thought about it "She's nice- I like spending time with her. And I like that the king actually lets me out of the castle sometimes now- even if the reason is just because he wants to make Piper happy."

"And has she also been enjoying your time together?" Annabeth sounded a bit more serious now, though he could still see the smirk playing on her lips a bit as she spoke.

"Yeah, I think so," Percy said, nodding, still feeling a bit awkward about this whole thing "I mean- she said she likes to spend time with me, and if nothing else we're friends at least."

"Well, it's good to know that you have at least some charm," Annabeth teased, the smirk fully returning as she did so.

"I'm starting to think that I want to go back to reading now-"

"That's all it took?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him "Good to know I finally found a way to get you to focus back on what we're supposed to be doing."

"Yeah yeah," Percy rolled his eyes again "Come on- let's just focus-"

There was a knock at the door, cutting him off from continuing. Looking up with surprise, Percy glanced at Annabeth, before shrugging and pushing himself up to go over and open the door. On the other side stood Piper, as if summoned by their conversation. Hazel was with her, and both of them looked more serious than Percy had ever seen them. "Piper, what can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you," She glanced behind him, undoubtedly noticing Annabeth also in the room. Before he could object she continued "It's important, no it can't wait."

Percy sighed, but nodded, moving aside to let her in, before turning back to Annabeth "I'm sorry, we'll have to finish this later, or work on it for a little bit longer tomorrow or something."

"That's alright," Annabeth assured, having stood up at some point and was now moving towards the door. She nodded to Piper "My lady-" before starting towards the door.

"You can stay," Piper offered, looking over at Annabeth as the girl nodded to her "Hopefully this won't take long."

Percy looked at her in confusion for a moment, before looking at Annabeth, who looked just as confused as he was. For a moment he watched her as she considered her options, before she nodded and took a step back, indicating she'd stay in the room.

Piper and Hazel entered, before Piper turned back to the door "Jason, it is likely best if you join us as well."

Both Percy and Annabeth looked at Jason in surprise, who was in turn looking at Piper, then a glance at Percy, before entering the room and closing the door behind him.

For a moment Percy just glanced around at all for the people gathered in the room, before focusing on Piper "What's going on?"

He had no idea what it could or would be that would include all of them. Somewhere in the back of his brain he wondered if he should have asked them all to sit down, but before he could Piper was looking at Hazel, who hesitated for just a second before speaking, her voice soft but firm "I was walking through the back halls of the castle with a friend- Leo, he's the apprentice to one of the blacksmiths-"

"I know him," Percy said, nodding a bit "He helped take measurements for the sword my father had made for me."

Hazel nodded, taking a deep breath before continuing "Some guards stopped us-"

"What did he do?" Jason asked, sighing a bit, as if Leo ending up in trouble with the guards was something he had been expecting for awhile, but had been hoping would never actually happen.

"Nothing," Haze assured, glancing over at him "We were in an area of the castle that he technically wasn't supposed to be in, but other than that he didn't do anything. But while the were questioning why we were- they noticed his tattoo."

"Fuck."

Percy had never heard Jason swear before. His eyes were fixed on Hazel, and it was clear the two of them were thinking something that the rest of them didn't understand. Frowning a bit, Percy asked "What's it matter if he has a tattoo?"

Hazel took a deep breath, glancing at Piper for a moment, before looking back at Percy "It's a druid mark."

Percy's stomach dropped, brain immediately going to the events of the week prior. He didn't know Leo well. From what he knew the boy was even more childish than he himself could be, and he wasn't surprised that the boy had apparently almost burnt down a stable once. Still, none of that meant he deserved to be in jail. If anything it meant the opposite. "What happened?"

"They took him," Hazel said, and as far as Percy could tell she was still focusing more on Jason than him "They looked through his bag and said there was something in it he'd stolen. I was with him the whole time, there was nothing in the bag-"

Jason seemed to debate that for a moment, before nodding a bit. To Percy's slight surprise, since Jason normally wasn't so forward, he looked right at him "We need to do something."

"We know," Piper had spoken up to Percy's relief, as really he wasn't sure what he had been about to say "We want to help him, that's why we came here. We were hoping that Percy could speak to his father. Assure him that Leo didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm not sure how much good it'll do," Percy sighed "I don't have a ton of sway with him, but I'll see what I can do."

A silence fell over them as the truth of what he was saying fully dawned on all of them. There really wasn't much he could do, and if he didn't…

It was Jason that finally asked the question all of them were thinking "And if you can't get him to let Leo go? If he insists they found something in his bag?"

Percy took a deep breath, mind racing to try and figure out his answer before he started talking. After a moment though, he had no choice but to start, trying to make his voice as confident as possible when he spoke "We'll figure that out when or if it comes to it."

To Percy's relief, and surprise, the others nodded in agreement. He wasn't sure if they just didn't know what else to do, or if by some miracle he had convinced them he actually had a clue what he was doing, but he was relieved he didn't have to try and come up with a more indepth answer.

"Thank you Percy," Piper said, giving him a small smile as she nodded again "Leo is a friend of all of ours- Hazel, Jason, and me. We can't just leave him in there-"

"I know," Percy assured, nodding to her in return "And I want him free as much as you do. He doesn't deserve to be in the dungeons over something like this. We'll figure it out."

Piper gave him a small smile for a moment, just looking at him before speaking again "Still, thank you. We'll leave you to think, we should be going anyway. I just wanted to tell you as soon as possible."

"I appreciate it," Percy assured, returning the small smile "Hopefully I will be able to talk to the king tomorrow afternoon, I don't think I'll get the chance before then."

"I will show you out," Jason said, looking over at Piper and Hazel, before going to hold the door for them. A moment later the room was as empty as before, with just Percy and Annabeth left inside.

Sighing, Percy ran a hand through his hair, something he had been holding back the whole conversation "You were oddly quiet."

"I didn't have anything to really add. You were doing a good job of sounding confident and reassuring them all by yourself," Annabeth replied, shrugging a bit before looking up at him "Your father isn't going to listen to you."

"No, he's not," Percy agreed, sighing again and going back to sit on edge of the bed. Of course Annabeth knew that. The others might have thought he had some sort of power, but she knew the truth. He had no power at all. If anything he had even less than he had before he was a prince.

"So what are you going to do?" Annabeth moved over to sit next to him.

"I'm going to try and talk to him," Percy replied, before meeting her eyes "But I think you better start coming up with a back up plan to get Leo out- if you don't mind plotting treason that is."

Annabeth was the smartest person he knew. Though it had only really come out a few times, it was also obvious she was good at strategy. If anyone could figure out a way to help it would be her, but there was no denying that if she did help it would likely be considered treason. That was a lot to ask.

"I'll see what I can come up with," Annabeth assured, giving him a small smile "We'll figure this out."

It was the same thing he had said to Piper. Somehow coming from Annabeth it seemed a lot more reassuring.


	33. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

It hadn't been nearly as hard as Jason had thought it would be to get into the dungeon. The guards on duty didn't even question it when he said he was checking something for the prince. They just had him turn out his pockets, leave his sword at the door, and waved him through.

"Please tell me you didn't actually do anything to land yourself here?" Jason raised an eyebrow, though in the dim light. He wasn't sure if Leo would even be able to see it.

"Come on- me get myself into trouble?" Leo's voice would have sounded as light hearted as ever to most people, but Jason knew it was a front. That Leo was trying to hide just how scared he was.

"Seriously Leo," Jason shook his head "I need to know. Hazel said you didn't do anything wrong, but I need to know for sure. The prince is sticking his neck out- which I don't want him doing with only half the information."

"I didn't do anything Jason, I promise," Leo assured, pushing himself up and, to Jason's relief, with a serious tone now "I was in an area of the castle I wasn't supposed to be, but other than that I didn't do anything. Hazel tried to tell them I was there helping her with something, but they ignored her. Do you really think I would steal something from the castle?"

"No," Jason admitted, sighing and shaking his head "But you can't blame me for wanting to make sure. The first time I met you it was because you were stealing-"

"Fair enough," Leo agreed "I didn't have a job than though- and I was hungry. I promise you, sense getting the job at the castle I haven't stolen anything, from the castle or otherwise."

Jason let out a breath and slowly nodded "Alright, I'm sorry but I had to ask. Percy is a good guy who has a complicated relationship with father. I didn't want him taking a risk with him until I knew all of the information."

"He is going to try though, yeah?" Leo asked, and though he was playing it off well, Jason could tell how nervous he was.

Sighing, Jason nodded again "He's going to try, but like I said he doesn't have a tone of sway with his father. If that doesn't work though we will figure something else out."

Honestly Jason wasn't sure about it, but he wanted to assure Leo. And maybe a small part of him wanted to be reassured as well. Leo nodded in agreement "Right. Thank you Jason."

"Just- don't do anything dumb," Jason gave him a serious look "You just thought it was a cool tattoo, no idea what it meant. Your bag just had scrap materials in it. Keep your head down and your mouth shut. Don't make this any harder on us than it already is going to be."

"I won't," Leo assured, nodding as he did so "I know when it's time to actually be serious."

"Good," Jason sighed a bit as he looked over at Leo for a long moment, the dim light making the other boy's elfish features almost sinister. "I should go. I can't stay to long or someone will start to wonder what we're doing down here, but I promise we are going to figure this out."

"I know you will." To Jason's surprise Leo gave _him _a reassuring smile "Go on. Besides, I should be getting dinner sometime soon I think."

"I'll come back when I know more- probably tomorrow," Jason smiled a bit at him in return "Try not to get to comfy down here."

"No promises," Leo said, grinning at him a bit. Jason just shook his head, before turning to head back out of the dungeons.

* * *

Hazel could be a bit of a mystery to Piper. Usually the younger girl seemed to show everything on her face, but what she showed wasn't always what she was actually feeling. What tended to actually give it away was how the girl was acting rather than her expressions. For instance, today Hazel was doing everything she could to keep herself busy, but also was staying near the room. She was nervous, trying to stay busy, while also staying near Piper in hopes that they would get news soon, but Piper wasn't completely sure how she was actually feeling.

It was when Hazel was refolding some clothes for the second time that Piper finally spoke "You know we'll figure it out. Even if Percy can't get Posidon to change his mind. We'll make sure no harm comes to him."

"I know," Hazel replied, and to Piper's slight surprise she did actually sound confident in the answer "It's just-"

Hazel trailed off, but it dawned on Piper what the other was thinking. Softly she finished it "Just that Leo isn't the only thing you're worried about."

"I'm not so much worried about it, just thinking about it," Hazel replied, not really looking at Piper as she did so "And remembering…"

Remembering her life before coming to the castle. Thinking about how easily it could have been her that was sitting in a cell instead of Leo. As if to confirm her suspicions, Hazel rubbed at her wrist, a nervous habit she had had for as long as Piper knew her.

"You know that I wouldn't let anything like this happen to you," Piper replied softly, looking over at Hazel "If I had any power in this situation I wouldn't be allowing it to happen to Leo either, but I don't."

"So what would be different if it was me?" Hazel asked, looking over at her "What would give you any more power over it?"

"You are here under my protection. You're a subject of my father's kingdom, not Poseidon's," Piper explained gently. Sometimes she forgot that Hazel was so much younger than her, but at times like this she really did feel more like a little sister than a friend "In the end what happens is in the hands of my father, and to an extent me. We both already know and aren't going to do anything. Leo's fate, unfortunately, lies with Poseidon."

Slowly Hazel nodded, though it still didn't seem like she was completely convinced "Right- I mean I know you wouldn't, I just-"

Piper pushed herself up, walking over to Hazel and taking her hand to squeeze it a bit, before leading her over to the couch so they could sit. It was only then that Hazel finished her thought "It just feels a lot more real now. I've always know it was a threat, but since I came to the castle the threat didn't feel real."

Slowly Piper nodded, before speaking again "You felt safe, even if you were still careful about it. What happened is making you question that safety, it makes sense."

Hazel didn't really look at Piper as she continued to speak "I've also just been thinking more- about what happened when I was younger."

She didn't need to explain. What else would it have been then the life she had had with the druids? How it had come to an end. Piper sighed letting Hazel continue rather than saying anything herself.

"My mom- she was insane, and not a good mother, but that doesn't mean she deserved to die. The others were just living their lives, almost all of them were good people," she shook her head, glancing at Piper for a moment before looking away again "It's not fair. The way they're treated, they're just people, and as much as I say I'm not, I am one of them."

"I know," Piper sighed "You're right, it's not fair, but unfortunately there is very little I can do about it. Hopefully things will change. Percy won't follow the same path as his father I'm sure, and if I have any say in it neither will my kingdom."

Slowly Hazel nodded "Good. Thank you- but I'm still going to keep busy until we know more about what's happening-"

"Fair enough," Piper agreed, giving her a small smile, before sighing when Hazel was back to folding clothes. Someday she would hopefully actually be able to do something that could help. For now all there was to do was wait and hope. It killed her, but it was the only option.


	34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Percy was still trying to figure out what to say as he walked down the hallway to his father's study. Part of him wanted to just burst in and demand he let Leo go, but that wouldn't work. Likely it would just make the king less inclined to give in. He needed to try and reason him into it, but unfortunately reasoning wasn't exactly Percy's strong suit. The best argument he had was Piper, that she was friends with him, that it would mean a lot to her if he was freed. Even knowing that though, he was still nervous. Like he had told Annabeth this probably wasn't going to work.

He knew waiting would just make it worse though, so he took a deep breath and turned the corner. The guards on duty were clearly surprised to see him, but Percy did his best not to let that hinder him as he walked up. Sounding as royal as he could "I need to speak with my father."

One glanced at the other, before shrugging and entering the room. For a few minutes, Percy was left with just the other guard, before the door was opened. Instead of walking out, the guard merely held it open for him, and taking another deep breath, Percy walked forward to enter.

Normally when he entered the room, Poseidon was working at his desk, not even watching as Percy did so. Now though, the king, while still sitting in at his desk, was facing the door. Percy just walked forward, taking his normal place near the center, back straight, but tilting his head to meet Poseidon's eyes. He waited for him to speak first, which happened just a moment later. "Well, I take it you didn't just come here to look at me."

"No sir," Percy agreed, still not sure how to do this, before taking a deep breath and as confidently as he could tried to just push forward "I'm sure you are aware Princess Piper's maid, Hazel, came with her from her kingdom?"

"I was informed someone accompanied her," Poseidon said, nodding and raising an eyebrow "Why are you telling me about her?"

Poseidon seemed to actually be paying attention and interested in what he was saying, which caught Percy off guard a bit, but he tried not to let that phase him. He needed to focus before he lost his nerve.

"She was making her way about the castle, which she has permission to do, with a friend of both her's and Piper's. They were stopped by some guards," Percy continued "At the end of the exchange, her friend was escorted away and as far as we are aware he is still being held in the dungeons."

"And I take it you would like the boy released?" Poseidon replied simply, waiting for Percy to confirm it.

"It would mean a lot to both Hazel and the princess if he were to be," Percy agreed, nodding a bit at that "Especially considering he didn't do anything to warrant being held in the first place."

To Percy's slight surprise, his father nodded, and pushed himself up simply asking "Are you going to tell me his name or am I just supposed to go let out every single person in the dungeon?"

That caught Percy once again off guard. Was he actually going to do it? "Leo Valdez. He is an apprentice to the blacksmiths here at the castle."

"And you said this happened yesterday?" Poseidon waited till Percy nodded, before walking over to another small table which was also covered in papers. As he shifted through the papers, Percy felt his heart rate quicken. This might actually be working. They might actually be able to get him out without having to break him out. For once in his life the easy way was actually going to work.

"I'm afraid releasing him is not going to be possible," Poseidon replied, lowering the paper he was reading "The guards found stolen objects in his bag, ones doubtlessly taken from the castle, which is considered an act of treason."

Percy's stomach dropped. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. Things never went that easily for him. Trying not to let the disappointment show on his face he shook his head "They must have been mistaken. Hazel assures me that she was with him the whole time, and that there was no way he could have taken anything without her realizing."

"Then she wasn't paying close enough attention," Poseidon replied, shaking his head as well, and moving to hand Percy the paper "It's all there if you want to read it for yourself. Maybe she needs to be more careful about who she makes friends with. I'm sure given the circumstances and this information the princess will be more than understanding about the whole thing."

Percy didn't move to take the paper. Part of him wanted to argue with his father, but he knew it wouldn't work. This had nothing to do with Leo stealing things, which Percy was sure he hadn't done. No more then the weekend before had been about trespassing. There was no way Poseidon was going to just let Leo go, and really Percy had nothing he could use to force him to do so. Anger and frustration surged through him, but he did his best not to let it show. It wouldn't help. It would just let Poseidon know they were going to end up trying something else.

"I understand," Percy replied, nodding "Thank you for checking for me. I will let the princess know, and I'm sure she will understand as well."

"Very good," Poseidon said, though Percy got the feeling that wasn't really what he was thinking. The man was looking at him, but try as he might, Percy couldn't get a very good read on what the expression he was being given was "If there is nothing else, then I have work to get back to."

Percy didn't reply, just turned on his heel, and walked out of the room.

It wasn't until he he was three hallways away that Percy finally stopped, leaning against one of the walls and letting out a breath. Reaching up to run a hand through his hair he glanced down the hall, trying to figure out what to do. He had to tell Piper, obviously, but he didn't want to. It was what he had been expecting, and likely what she was expecting him to tell her, but that didn't mean he wanted to do it. But it would be easier to tell her if he already had a plan- or at least, the start of a plan.

Taking a deep breath, Percy nodded to himself, before turning to head away from Piper's room, and towards the library.


	35. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

For the third time since starting towards Percy's room, Annabeth went over what she had managed to come up with. It was ridiculous, and probably way to over complicated, and was more than likely going to land all of them in jail. Well it was probably going to land her, Hazel, and Jason in jail. Piper and Percy would likely escape that, but would doubtlessly also end be in trouble.

Yet, it was the only plan that she could come up with, and she knew that the others would likely go along with it. Not because any of them other than Percy had any real reason to trust her, but because they were determined to get Leo out, and as such would likely agree to any plan put in front of them. That determination had been clear when Piper and Hazel had first told them about what had happened, and she was sure the it would still be there when she arrived today.

The pressure of that was both thrilling and terrifying. Either way, she was full of nervous energy, and her hand kept fidgeting with her sleeves, trying to channel the nerves. Giving her hand something to do made it easier for her brain to focus and actually think about what she wanted to be focusing on, not how nervous she was.

Jason wasn't standing outside of Percy's door, but that was to be expected. He rarely did honestly, though Annabeth suspected that now it was because he was already inside the room rather than off doing something more useful than just standing around guarding a door. In fact, she had no doubt that the others were already inside as well. Rethinking the plan over and over had lead to her running rather late.

Taking a deep breath, she reached up and knocked on the door, and a moment later Percy was looking over at her. He gave her a small smile, but didn't immediately let her in the room. Instead he softly asked, so that only she could hear "Are you sure you want to do this? It's okay if you don't."

Annabeth couldn't help but smile a bit at that. He recognized the full extent of what he was asking of her. He was asking her to commit treason, but it was even more than that. He was asking her to make sure the rest of them weren't caught committing treason. All of their fates were on her, and he knew that, and was giving her one last chance to back out of it.

"I'm sure." That was the last thing Annabeth was, but she couldn't let them down. Not when they were all waiting on her.

Percy nodded and stepped aside to let her in. As she had predicted, the others were already there, gathered at the small sitting area at one side of Percy's room. Without really thinking about it, Annabeth curtsied a bit as she approached Piper "My lady-"

Piper smiled at her and nodded. "It is nice to see you again Annabeth. Thank you for doing this. Percy has assured us that if anyone can figure this out, it's you. And given the circumstances I'm pretty sure just Piper will be fine from now on."

"Right," Annabeth nodded, before moving to take one of the empty spots, Percy sitting next to her. After a moment of glancing around she spoke again "So- I have a plan, but there are some holes I'm not sure how to fill just yet, and a lot of moving parts. I tried to give everyone as little to do as possible so it would be harder to trace back to each of you."

"Tell us what you have, Wise Girl," Percy said, giving her a small smile "We'll help figure out the rest."

"Right," Annabeth said again, nodding in agreement and giving him a small smile before beginning to speak. Silently she prayed that this wasn't going to back fired on all of them.

* * *

There was a pause as Annabeth finished laying out the plan. As they sat, Annabeth started fidgeting with her sleeve again, brain spinning. It wasn't good. Percy had talked her up to much and now they were all trying to figure out how to tell her how bad the plan was.

"I know someone who works in the stable," Hazel finally said, glancing around "He can make sure the horses are ready when we need them to be."

"Frank," Jason said, and Hazel nodded a bit "He's not exactly Leo's biggest fan."

"I know, but he's a good guy," Hazel assured "Even if he doesn't like Leo all that much, he'll help us, trust me."

"Good," Annabeth nodded, glancing around at them again "Then the only thing that we really need is a way to get you passed the guard at the gate- we can wing it the day of, but I'm not to fond of that idea-"

"I can distract them."

Annabeth had been expecting the response from Percy, but she shook her head "I didn't give you anything to do on purpose. Your father is going to know you were involved after asking him to realise Leo. You have to have an alibi- otherwise-"

"Otherwise I'll be in the same position as everyone else," Percy replied, shaking his head "I'll be taking the same risk everyone else is. I can lure the guard away from the exit long enough for them to get out."

"Percy- if you get caught it won't matter if he can prove you were helping Leo or not. You'll be on lockdown either way." Annabeth's eyes meet his, making sure he understood the full implications of it. The limited freedom he had, sneaking out to see her or his mom or Grover, would be gone. But of course he did, and he was going to do it anyway.

"Which is better than what he'll do if he catches Jason and Leo," Percy replied evenly, meeting Annabeth's eyes. Sighing, Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Alright. So Percy will lure the guard away," Annabeth let out a breath as she glanced at the others. This was insane. She didn't even know Leo and now here she was plotting treason because of him. But she knew what was happening was wrong, and it was important to Percy. Also Piper and Jason who she also knew a bit. And she knew Percy was going to try something one way or the other, so she had to try to give him the best plan possible.

Also there was part of her that couldn't help but feel a swell of pride that he had come to her, and she couldn't bring herself to turn away from that, no matter how much she was risking to accomplish it.

"Sounds like we have a plan than," Piper replied, giving Annabeth a small smile as she nodded at her "Thank you Annabeth."

Annabeth just nodded. Silently she hoped this wasn't going to end with all of them in even worse trouble then Leo already was.


	36. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Frank stared at her for a moment, not saying anything. Hazel couldn't help but worry that he was going to say no. Or not believe her. Or tell someone else what they were planning. That last one wasn't likely, she doubted he'd want to get her or the others in trouble. It was just a matter of if he wanted to risk himself to get Leo out.

"What are you going to do with the horses? Obviously Jason can bring his back, but what about Leo? Is he just going to steal the horse?"

The question surprised Hazel, though she wasn't sure why. It made sense. Frank cared about the animals, of course he didn't want one to just vanish. "Jason will bring both of them back in the morning, claiming he found them on his way back to the castle."

Slowly Frank nodded, staying silent for another moment before speaking "And why are we helping Leo? Word is he was arrested for stealing from the crown."

"He didn't steal anything," Hazel shook her head at that, before continuing "He's a druid, that's why he was arrested, and why there is no way they are going to let him go. He hasn't done anything wrong, which is why we have to do something."

"Valdez is a druid?" Frank asked with surprise as he looked over at her. She couldn't blame him. It wasn't something you found out everyday "You're alright though? They didn't mess with you at all?"

"No," Hazel assured, the concern she saw surprising her a bit too, but it was also nice to see "They were really only interested in Leo. They didn't even really look at me."

"Good," Frank nodded. Then he took a deep breath and let it out "Alright. But if either of the horses get hurt I will track down Leo and kill him myself."

Hazel decided not to mention that Jason would also be to blame. That wasn't the point. The point was that he didn't want any harm to come to the horses, and she couldn't blame him for that. Hazel didn't want anything to happen to them either, she just had more faith that it wouldn't.

"Thank you," Hazel smiled as she looked up at him for a moment "I'm not sure they would be able to get away fast enough on foot."

"I just have another question," Frank looked at her, face still serious "If I'm staying late, and two horses go missing, aren't they going to know I had something to do with it?"

"No," Hazel shook her head "We just need you to prepare the horses, then leave them in their stalls. Then you leave, make sure the guards notice you. Ask for the time so they know exactly when they saw you. It should be at least half an hour before Leo and Jason actually ride out. Everyone will most likely think that whoever helped him escape slipped into the stable and readied the horses before hand. Either way there will be no proof you had anything to do with it."

There was a pause, before Frank nodded again "Alright, I can do that. Night after tomorrow?"

"Night after tomorrow," Hazel agreed, smiling as she looked up at him "Thank you. Seriously, I know you don't exactly like Leo."

"That doesn't mean I want him to be killed," Frank replied, shrugging a bit "Besides, what's happening to him isn't fair. Someone should do something about it."

Hazel nodded a bit in agreement, and for a moment just smiled up at him, and despite how serious Frank had been throughout the entire conversation, she found him smiling down at her as well.

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Grover looked at Annabeth with a mix of confusion and disbelief. It was late, Annabeth had managed to slip into the store just as Grover was locking up for the night. He had assumed that she just needed some last minute thing for her step-mother, but as soon as she was in and had his attention she had instead started filling him in on everything that had been happening at the castle, ending with two requests.

"Make a sleep drought," Annabeth replied simply, looking over at him "I'm sure you can do it. You've made them for my step-mother often enough. Just do that, but make it stronger so it'll works faster."

"Right," Grover nodded, looking over at her for a moment before adding "And you will be using this drought to break someone out of the dungeons?"

"Someone who hasn't done anything wrong," Annabeth added, but nodded a bit in agreement. After a moment she sighed a bit and added "If you don't want to help I understand- but yes, that is what I'm asking you to do."

For a moment, Grover just looked at her, trying to figure out what to do or say. What if he messed up? It wouldn't be the first time he had gotten something wrong, and than his friends would be in really bad position. But on the other hand, if he didn't do it, they would have two wide awake guards to deal with. He couldn't let them down.

Finally, he nodded "Yeah, I should be able to handle that. It probably won't be ready till morning after next, but I can do it."

A look of relief passed over Annabeth's face, even though Grover knew she had been trying to make it seem like this wasn't a big deal, wanting to give him the choice without the pressure of how much she needed him. "Thank you Grover. Seriously. And… the second part?"

"Oh yeah, that part's easy," Grover assured, smiling at her and accepting the note she passed him "I don't see why it should cause any problems."

"Right, good," Annabeth smiled at him again.

For a moment, Grover just looked over at her, before he finally asked "Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?" The confusion was clear on Annabeth's face, and to be completely honest, Grover wasn't sure what he was asking either.

"I mean- it's not like you know the guy, so why are you risking all of this for him?" Maybe it was a dumb question, but Grover got the impression the answer was more than just 'It's the right thing to do.'

"Why are you?" Annabeth replied evenly, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him, and Grover got the impression she already knew what his answer was going to be, something that tended to happen a lot with her.

"Because you're asking me too," Grover replied honestly "And I know how determined you are. I don't want to let you or Percy down."

He couldn't let his friends down, not again. So, even though he was worried, there was no way he could say no when he knew they needed him.

"Exactly, I don't want to let them down," Annabeth replied, but Grover could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth. He was good at reading her, and Percy too for that matter, even though both of them were good at hiding what they were feeling a lot of the time. He figured it just had to do with how long they had all known each, since he wasn't particularly good at reading other people, just them.

"It's more than that for you," Grover countered, shaking his head before looking at her again, waiting for her to reply.

"Something happened last week. Percy was put in a really bad position, and he couldn't do anything but watch as people died. It's making him rethink this whole thing. He needs this to show him that being a prince can allow him to help people, before he backs down from the whole thing."

"You don't want him to?" Grover asked, with slight surprise as he looked over at her "You want him to actually go through with being king?"

"I do," Annabeth agreed, her eyes stormier than usual "He'll be a good king, or if nothing else he is a good man. And despite his protests being a prince suits him. He wants to help people, and the best way for him to do that is to be the prince."

"Is he really going to be happy doing it though?" Grover asked, hesitating as he looked over at her "If he backs out he could get his whole life back."

"He would live to regret it," Annabeth replied with a certainty that Grover didn't question. If anyone knew Percy better than him it was Annabeth. If she was that certain about it she was probably right. After a moment she added "And it was nice to have them all relying and trusting me."

Grover nodded. 'It's the right thing' wasn't a bad reason, and it was enough of a reason for Annabeth to do something, but the other reasons helped with why she would be risking so much for it. Annabeth had spent a lot of her life mostly feeling completely ignored, especially by her father, and as a result, having people that were looking to her in this way had to be appealing. Not to mention that, of course, she wanted Percy to be happy. After everything he'd been through the guy deserved it.

"You should go," Grover said after a moment "Before anyone notices and questions what's taking so long."

He doubted anyone really would. They were friends, so even if someone did notice they would just think they were talking about something. Still, better safe than sorry, right?

Annabeth apparently agreed, because she nodded, giving him a small smile "You're right. Thank you again, Grover."


	37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

As they made their way through the garden, Piper could tell Jason was distracted. He wasn't overly talkative normally, but usually if she initiated the conversation he would gladly take part. Now though, he was giving limited answers, and didn't seem to interested in keeping the conversation going.

After a little while of this, Piper sighed, looking over at him, before softly speaking "You're worried about tonight?"

For a moment she wasn't sure Jason was going to answer, and really he didn't have to. Of course he was nervous, they all were. Than Jason spoke "Of course. I mean- a lot can go wrong."

"Of course," Piper agreed, nodding a bit, before glancing around at the garden again. Somehow it had sort of become a thing they did, walking around the garden when Jason wasn't busy and Piper wanted some company. It happened more than either of them had really expected. After a moment she added "And you're worried about Leo? Not just getting him out, but just in general."

"I am," Jason admitted, sighing a bit at that and focusing on one of the flowers as he spoke "He has a habit of getting himself into trouble."

"He's not going to be alone," Piper said softly, looking over at him "He'll find the others, and then they'll all get out of here before the king can do anything."

"I know that- but I still can't help but be worried," Jason shook his head a bit "And even though I know it's the best thing for him is to get as far away from here as possible, I'm still upset. It's going to be weird to not have him around anymore."

"You really care about him," Piper said softly as she looked over at Jason, finding his face rather easy to read for once.

"He's my best friend," Jason shrugged a bit at that, slipping his hands into his pockets "It's been a long time since he hasn't been around to pull me off on crazy adventures. I know it's the only option, but it feels wrong that he has to leave. He loves his job, he finally has a stable life."

"What about his family?" Piper asked hesitantly, still watching Jason closely, trying not to push this to far, but also getting the feeling that this was something he needed to talk about.

"He has an aunt and uncle, who he lived with for awhile, but from what I understand they weren't all that nice," Jason sighed as he thought about it "I don't know about his dad, but his mom died in a fire when he was young. That's how we met- her grave is in the yard of the church where I grew up, and he was visiting it one night."

A small smile appeared on Jason's face as he spoke, making Piper look at him curiously. He hadn't said anything particularly happy, besides meeting Leo. The circumstances actually seemed rather grim, so after a moment she found herself prompting him again "There is more to that story, isn't there?"

"Yeah, there is," Jason agreed, smiling a bit more at that, before he continued "I caught him trying to steal some food from the back room. I made some point about stealing from the church, and his response was that if the church was the house of God, than really it was God he was stealing from, and if God was really as loving as everyone said he wouldn't mind. Also that we should fix the lock on the back door if we didn't want thieves. I couldn't really argue with either of those statements."

"So you let him take it?" Piper asked, smiling as well as she listened. It sounded like something Leo would do, manage to talk his way not only out of getting in trouble, but also managing to leave with the items as well.

"I asked him if he knew how to fix locks," Jason replied, shrugging a bit "He did, so I told him that if he took the food it was only right to do something for God in return. The next day he came back and offered to fix the lock, claiming he had just noticed it while he was out in the yard. I ended up spending some time talking to him- and he came to help with more things when he would stop by. A friendship just sort of developed."

"Was he a druid yet?" Piper asked curiously as she looked over at him "If his mother was, than surely she wouldn't have been buried in a church yard, they have their own rituals for death, don't they?"

"She wasn't, but yes, he was," Jason hesitated for a moment, and Piper knew he was debating if this was alright for him to be telling her. At this point though, what does it matter? Apparently Jaon agreed, since he continued "After her ran away from his aunt and uncle, they took him in. I'm not sure how long he was on his own, and even after he joined them he was still a bit of a loner, which was why he was often at the church on his own. Still, he appreciates the traditions, and he is still beyond grateful to them for what they did to help."

Piper nodded, getting the urge to reach over and slip her hand into his, but she resisted. They could be very relaxed in the garden by themselves, but she doubted Jason would be comfortable with that, especially when there was still a chance someone else would come upon them. "And then you both ended up here? Was that planned?"

"Not really. I got the job first, wanted to get away, and like I said I was looking for adventure," Jason shrugged, glancing back at the flowers again "Once I was here I heard about the blacksmith job, and I knew Leo enjoyed tinkering with things so I suggested it to him. That's when he told me he was a druid, since he was worried about being found out."

A look came over Jason's face, one that she hadn't seen before, and after a moment Piper realized that it was guilt. Sighing slightly, she looked over at him "It wasn't your fault Jason, you couldn't have known that this would happen."

"I convinced him this was a good idea, that blacksmiths wear gloves all the time anyway," Jason replied, shaking his head in response to that, still not looking at her "Even if someone did see it I figured he could pretend it had to do with being a smith. I was wrong, and now he is in the dungeons."

"It wasn't your fault," Piper repeated, stopping to try and catch his eye, though he was still not really looking at her "This was years ago. He got stuck in a bad situation, you couldn't have done anything about it. Besides, we are going to get him out of it, so no harm done."

"There's still harm done," Jason said very softly "He still has to leave. Abandon his life and a job that he loves."

That caught Piper slightly off guard, but it was true. Even if they got Leo out, he was still going to lose a lot. It wasn't fair, but she wasn't sure what they could do about it, or how to make it better. Maybe there wasn't anything that could be done.

She had no idea what else to say, and luckily before she had to Jason spoke again, seeming to have shaken off the conversation a bit "We should go. Dinner will be starting soon, and then- well- hopefully tonight doesn't end with all of us in much deeper trouble than Leo already is."

"Right," Piper nodded, giving him a small smile, before changing their direction to head back towards the entrance of the garden "Let's go stage a jailbreak."


	38. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

When the door opened, Percy smiled up at his mother, who looked back at him with slight surprise ."You're earlier than normal."

"I know, but I wanted to spend more time with you tonight, and I have something else I have to do later." Percy had left as soon as he could without the absence being noticed. He needed to be outside the castle at the time when he normally would have sneaked out to visit her, and he wanted to make sure he had time to spend with his mom before this all happened. Just in case.

"Any particular reason for wanting extra time?" Sally asked curiously, stepping aside to let Percy into the house. Her voice took on a slightly teasing tone as she added "And what plans do you have for later?"

He knew what she was thinking. That he was going to meet up with Annabeth. Part of him wanted to tell her that was what he was doing to keep from worrying her. That wasn't fair though. She deserved to know the truth, in case something did happen.

"That's a little bit of a complicated answer," Percy admitted, moving over to take a seat at the table without really thinking about it. He hadn't brought a bag with him tonight, he would need to be fast later.

Sally looked at him for a moment, before nodding a bit "I'll make some tea."

As the water heated up, they talked about nothing in particular. It wasn't until Sally was sitting in the chair next to him and they were both holding cups of tea that she finally prompted him "What's going on?"

"A lot," Percy admitted, sighing a bit as he thought about it. Than, taking a deep breath, he started to fill her in on the important information. Who Leo was, what had happened to him, why it had happened, and ending it all with "We're going to try and get him out tonight. There's a chance this will all go wrong, and if I get caught the king will probably put me on lockdown. I don't know when I'll be able to visit again, it might not be for awhile. Either way, Annabeth promised to come talk to you and tell you what happened tomorrow night."

Sally listened to him, not saying anything as he rambled a bit. When he was done, Percy finally looked up, biting his lip a little as he waited for her response. To his surprise, she was smiling at him. The soft, comforting smile that seemed to be reserved for just him, and occasionally Annabeth. Slowly she reached over and placed her hand on top of Percy's squeezing it slightly "I'm so proud of the man you are becoming, one who is willing to risk his own freedom to help someone who needs it."

Percy let out a breath. He didn't know how to respond, and couldn't help but feel pride and joy build up in him. Even if he had known what to say, he wasn't sure he could speak for a moment. It wasn't that his mom had never told him something similar. He knew she loved him, that was never a question. But love and pride were two different things. He had never believed so fully that she was proud of him. It made him even more sure of what they were going to do.

"Even if it means I won't be able to visit you as much?" He couldn't help but feel guilt mix into his feelings even as he asked it. He knew she missed him, and he just wanted her to be happy. She had done so much for him.

"Of course," Sally assured, reaching up to gently push his bangs out of his face "You are risking something to help someone and do what's right. I couldn't be more proud."

"What if I get caught, and he decides to give up on me?" Percy asked softly, looking up and meeting her eyes for a moment "Decides this whole prince thing was a mistake and just picks someone else to be his heir. Is it fair of me to risk being able to help so many people, for the happiness of one?"

"This isn't just about Leo, is it ?" Sally asked softly, looking over at him. Percy wasn't really surprised that she had put that together, she knew him better than anyone.

"No," Percy admitted, sighing a bit but not saying anything else. He didn't have to. Sally knew what he was thinking. He didn't want to marry Piper. He would never want to marry any girl that Poseidon would select for him.

"I think that's a question that only you can answer," Sally said after a moment "No matter what you decide, it won't make me any less proud. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. No matter which way you go, I'll support you."

"But isn't it selfish of me to risk losing this opportunity?" Percy looked over at her, eyes searching his mother's face for any sign of what he should do "I mean, I might end up being a horrible king, but at least I could try to make things better. In a way I'll never be able to if I'm not in a position of power."

"You're allowed to be selfish sometimes," Sally assured, giving him a small smile "Especially when it comes to setting up the rest of your life. And besides, if you spend your whole life unhappy, I doubt you would be in a position to make good choices for others."

Percy wanted to point out that she hadn't been selfish. That she had married his abusive asshole of a step-father and been stuck with him for years before he finally got himself killed in some brawl. That even before he had died, she had worked for a scribe, mostly writing out copies in order to support them. She had done everything she could, just to try and give him a slightly better life than she would have been able to by herself.

Saying any of that probably wouldn't have gone over well though. Instead he just softly said "I want to be able to help you. You deserve everything the king is giving you and more."

"What I want more than anything is for you to be happy," Sally assured again, squeezing his hand a bit "Even if that means running away from all of this with Annabeth. As long as you're happy I will be as well."

Slowly Percy nodded, processing that for a moment, before shifting slightly so he could hug her, holding tight for a moment "Thank you."

It was more than just a thank you for the advice, or for the assurance that she didn't care what he did. It was for everything she had done for him, and he silently hoped his mom knew that without him having to say it.

Sally smiled, smoothing his hair down a bit as she hugged him back "Of course sweetheart."

For a moment Percy just hugged her, before reluctantly pulling away to look over at her "I love you, mom."

"I love you too, sweetheart, more than anything," Sally assured, reaching up to push back his bangs again "And I trust you to make a decision that is best for you."

Percy nodded a bit, still smiling at her, hoping that she was right, though he was nowhere near as sure as she seemed to be.


	39. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Even as Frank finished securing the saddle on the second horse, he wasn't sure about this plan. He knew they had to do something. As irresponsible and annoying as he could be, Leo didn't deserve to be stuck in a dungeon until- well until whatever the king decided to do. It wouldn't be a release with a warning, that was for sure.

But what if something went wrong? The plan was careful to not put him in danger of being discovered as part of the whole thing, but the others? When the guards passed out, Hazel would be one of the first ones questioned about it. They were banking off the fact that she could pretend like she didn't know everyone that worked at the castle yet, but if the king didn't believe her…

Frank shook the thought away. It was too late to worry about that now anyway. Hazel was probably on her way down to the dungeons by now. Backing out would just put everyone at risk.

Letting out a breath, Frank stepped away. He'd picked the two calmest horses he could, not sure how well either of the boys could ride, though Hazel had assured her that they both could. The horse looked over at him curiously when he stepped out of the stall without grabbing the bridle, but Frank just smiled at him for a moment before securing the door.

"Frank?"

Immediately Frank turned to look, blinking in surprise when he saw one of the other stable boys, Butch, standing in the hallway. No one else should be there, and for a moment his brain spun to figure out why Butch was, but he pushed it away. It didn't matter. He had to get rid of him.

Smiling, Frank nodded a bit to the other boy "Butch? What are you doing here so late?"

"I was carrying some of the bridals back and dropped them in a puddle. I figured it would be better to stay and clean them than let Mathews come in and see them tomorrow," Butch explained, though his eyes were watching Frank suspiciously, clearly picking up on the fully saddled horse he was standing in front of "What are you doing?"

"Guido hasn't been out in a few days, I figured I would take him for a ride," Frank replied easily, the lie coming out before he could even really think about it "Matthews doesn't mind, he said I can exercise the horses as long as no one wants them."

"So you decided to do it this late at night?" Butch pressed, clearly not believing him, arms crossing over his chest "And are you planning to ride two horses at once?"

Frank tensed slightly at that. He had been hoping that Butch hadn't noticed that two stalls down Scipio was also ready for a rider. After a moment of hesitation he let out a sigh, an answer coming to him. He didn't like it a ton, but it was better than the truth "I may or may not be meeting a girl from town and taking her on a late night ride up to the hill to look at the stars."

To Frank's relief, Butch relaxed, letting his arms drop to his side again "Does Matthews know?"

"Technically no, but like I said, he's never cared if I take the horses as long as no one else needs them for something," Frank shrugged, more confident now that Butch seemed to believe him, and not wanting to push his luck by saying the master of horses knew something he didn't.

After a moment, Butch nodded, and to Frank's surprise moved towards Scipio's stable "I was just heading out, I'll help you walk the horses out of the gate."

"That's alright, you really don't have to. I'll be fine," Frank assured, moving to open up Guido's stable again to grab the bridle and appear like he was going to bring him out.

"It's easier with two." Butch was already heading away from him "It's no trouble, I was heading out anyway. Just let me grab my bag, I'll be back in a minute"

Frank wanted to protest, but what could he do? It _was_ easier with two. Which now meant he was stuck taking both horses out of the gate, and not leaving them in the stable for Jason and Leo.

Slipping into the stall, Frank glanced around, trying to figure out what to do. His eyes darted around, searching for some way to give them a sign. He hesitated on a small pick, meant for getting dirt out of a horse's hooves, which was hanging on the wall. It had long been a tradition that when someone who worked at the stables left they would carve their name into the wood of one of the stalls. Why couldn't he do the same?

Frank grabbed the pick, kneeling down to start scratching. It wasn't as easy as he had expected, and with every letter he scrambled to come up with an explanation for what he was doing if Butch were to see him.

_Meet pas-_

Butch's heavy footsteps were walking towards him again. Than they stopped, presumably at Scipio's stall.

_-t ga-_

"Woah boy," Butch's voice was calm, in a way that someone who had never heard it before wouldn't expect. Scipio neighed. The door to his stall scrapped open.

_-te_

The clop of hooves. Jangle of the harness. Scipio coming to a stop, the door scraping closed.

_FZ_

With one final movement, Frank stabbed the pick into the wood. It made him cringe, knowing he had just probably ruined the pick, or that it would at least need to be sharpened. He didn't have time to think though, pushing himself up and moving to pat Guido just as Butch walked into the line of sight of where he was.

"Ready?" Frank asked, intentionally putting himself in his line of sight of the message and pick. At least, he hoped he was.

"Yeah, let's go," Butch agreed, smiling at him, and to Frank's relief kept his eyes on him, before moving out of the way, pulling Scipio farther down the stable hallway. Once he was past the stall, Frank let out a sigh of relief, before grabbing Guido's Reins and started to lead him out of the stall, leaving the door open as they head out of the stable.


	40. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Dinner had seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. Hazel had spent most of it just picking at her food, and by the time other people started to leave she had only finished about half her meal, her thoughts occupied with her part of the plan instead of eating. That wasn't the end of the world though, since she needed to be in the room when the second round of dinner started. The dinner for all of the staff that had to be on duty during the upstairs meal, serving food or putting the final touches on dessert.

To her relief, most of the other staff members didn't even seem to notice her delay in eating. Despite having been there for weeks now, she still wasn't really a member of the staff, and that gave her a certain invisibility to them. None of them really paid attention to where she was supposed to be when.

As people started to move around the kitchen again, Hazel watched them closely, doing her best to appear as if she wasn't doing so. Her eyes landed on one of the kitchen maids, a red haired girl who Hazel knew was usually responsible for taking food to the guards down in the dungeons. It didn't make sense to her why the guards wouldn't just switch on a timetable that let them all eat at one of the two dinner times, but that wasn't how it worked, and right now that was for the best. At least for her.

The red haired girl made her way over to the counter near where one of the cooks was still working, setting out plates on the counter for the staff that were just entering. Hazel's eyes darted up and down to her multiple times watching as the girl took a tray and placed two of the plates on it, before moving over to grab a pitcher and some cups. After they were carefully placed on the tray, the girl started to weave through the crowds moving in and out of the room.

Thirty second after the girl left the room, Hazel took a deep breath and pushed herself up. Careful to keep her pace steady, she walked over to one of the sinks and set her plate and cup down next to it, piling it on top of the other dishes waiting to be washed. Then she turned,starting towards the door.

"Miss Levesque."

An older woman stood in front of her as she turned towards the door. Her features were sharp, hair pulled back into a crisp bun. A pair of glasses were perched on her nose, and her face was scrunched into what appeared to be a permanent scowl.

"Miss Dodds?" Hazel came to a halt, blinking a bit in surprise as she looked at the woman in front of her. She had been so focused on the plan. On getting out of the room. She hadn't even noticed the woman stepping in her path.

"Some guests are coming to stay at the castle. I need you to help prepare the rooms. One of the other girls will show you how it's done." The instructions left no room for question, and Hazel knew Miss Dodds was expecting her to simply nod and go on her way.

"I'm actually a little busy at the moment-" That probably hadn't been the best way to phrase it, but Hazel's brain was to busy spinning from the sudden change in her plan to really process that.

"Excuse me?" There was slight surprise and disbelief in the woman's voice, and to Hazel's dismay she noticed that suddenly a lot more people weren't moving, instead watching the two of them "And what exactly is so important that you are disregarding direct instructions from your supervisor?"

This was the moment Miss Dodds had been waiting for, Hazel could tell. The woman wanted her to stumble so that she could embarrass her. Hazel didn't like any of this, especially not the way everyone was looking at them. Even when she wasn't in the middle of a secret plan Hazel didn't usually like to draw attention to herself, which usually lead her to just go along with whatever she was told. Despite it not being her job Hazel would have just agreed under normal circumstances. Better that then have everyone watching her.

But right now she couldn't. She couldn't afford to. Leo couldn't afford for her to.

Before Hazel could really think about it, she found herself replying, voice still calm "You aren't my supervisor."

"Excuse me?" The woman repeated, and now Hazel was sure that most, if not all, of the room was watching them. Miss Dodds looked down her nose at her, and Hazel was suddenly very aware of the height difference between them "Tell me, Miss Levesque, which of us is the head of the household in this castle?"

"You are ma'am," Hazel admitted, but did her best to keep her voice even, not drawing away from the woman. She didn't have time for this. "But I am not under your jurisdiction."

"If you're a member of the house hold staff, are you not? As such you are expected to fulfill any request I make of you." Hazel could tell the woman was growing frustrated at the calm tone in her voice, wanting her to make a scene. Hazel was growing more annoyed herself. She needed to get out of there, and soon. The red-haired girl was already probably halfway to the dungeons by now.

"I am not a member of your staff," Hazel replied, debating if she could just run around the woman to the door. There couldn't be any consequences, she was operating under Piper's orders. One look told her it wouldn't work though. At this point everyone in the kitchen was watching, it was the quietest Hazel had ever heard the room. And the staff that had been entering for dinner was currently blocking her path to the door. She needed to cut this short.

Taking a deep breath, Hazel straightened her back as best as she could, before calmly speaking again "I am under the employ of Princess Piper. I take my instructions directly from her, and I am currently running an errand for her. If you have a complaint, you may take it up with the princess."

Miss Dodds just looked at her, unable to keep the surprise and disbelief off her face as she heard that. Hazel didn't stick around to see it though, instead just moving past the woman. To her relief, the others let her go as she walked towards the door and out into the hall.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Hazel let out a sigh of relief. For a second she just stood there, processing what had happened. The whole time she had been there she had let Miss Dodds tell her what to do, as really there wasn't any reason to say no. It wasn't like she was overly busy, and under normal circumstances the head of the household would have been her supervisor anyway. Now she just had to hope there was no backlash for it. That was a worry for another time though, and taking a deep breath, Hazel pushed herself off the wall to start down the hallway again.

Halfway down she stopped, making sure no one was around, before pulling slightly on one of the small pictures that lined the wall. The picture pulled back to reveal a small hiding spot that Annabeth had found years ago. Carefully, Hazel reached in and pulled out a pitcher of ale. Than she slammed it shut and hurried down the hallway again.

Despite her attempt to walk as fast as possible, and the fact that the encounter with Miss Dodds hadn't actually been that long, at least she didn't think it had been, Hazel didn't even catch sight of the red-haired girl until she was already descending the stairs to the dungeons. This was mainly do to the dungeons and the kitchen actually being pretty close to each other, though Hazel wasn't sure why that was. Possibly because both were things that nobility didn't ever want to have to see.

Just as she reached the top of the staircase, she saw the girl already stepping off the bottom step and making the short walk to the dungeon entrance. Quickly Hazel followed her, reaching the bottom of the stairs as the other girl was setting down the tray on the small table set up for the guards. She came to a stop, not sure what to do now.

Both guards and the girl were looking at her. They had all stopped what they were doing, and for the second time in the last few minutes all eyes were on Hazel. For a moment she just looked at them as well, before scrambling for an explanation "I was leaving the kitchen when a man came out after me and handed me this pitcher. He said you forgot to grab it when you left- but I guess he must have just not noticed it."

"Obviously," The girl agreed, sounding a little annoyed "I know how to do my job."

"I'm not doubting you, I was just doing what I was told," Hazel assured quickly, brain racing. After a moment something occurred to her, and she found herself asking "So do you want me to bring it back or…"

"I don't see any reason why you should do that." The guard who had spoken had sandy blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he was grinning a bit "If the guys in the kitchen want to give us extra ale, who are we to argue?"

"Right you are." The small mustache lifted as the other guard grinned as well "Go on and leave it- we'll get it back to the kitchen later."

"Let's not be heisty," Sandy said, grinning a bit more "We have double the beer- no reason we shouldn't share it with some beautiful ladies."

"You have a point." Mustache agreed, raising an eyebrow a bit as he looked between Hazel and the other girl "What do you ladies say?"

"Sounds a lot more fun than going back to the kitchen," Red-hair replied, grinning as she looked at one of the boys, voice flirtatious as she did so "If you're sure you don't mind sharing."

"Positive," Sandy grinned at her, before looking over at Hazel and raising an eyebrow at her "What do you say beautiful? Want to have some fun before going back to work?"

Hazel hesitated, glancing around at them as her brain spun. She should say no, and honestly the way they were talking made her want to say no as well. On the other hand though- what better way to prove she had had no idea what was in the beer than drinking it herself? Annabeth had said it should be strong enough that one cup would be enough to knock them out, so, it wasn't like it wouldn't work if they split it. And with two pitchers, what if one of them never drank from the one she had brought? She need to ensure they both drank from her's, and that they drank from it first.

"Sounds wonderful," Hazel agreed, doing her best to make her voice flirtatious as well. She was annoyingly aware that it didn't work nearly as well as it had for the other girl.

"Wonderful," Mustache agreed, grinning as he moved to grab the pitcher that was sitting on the table, assumedly to start filling the four cups, two of which were from the red-haired girl, and two that the guards had already had down there that they had been drinking from before the girls arrived.

Quickly, Hazel stepped forward, causing the guard to stop suddenly, and look up at her with surprise. "Wait- I- uh- let me-"

It came out more flustered than she would have liked, and for a second he looked confused, but when Hazel made herself smile at him, he grinned and relented "Alright beautiful, whatever you say."

Hazel tried not to let out a sigh of relief as she stepped forward, filling each of the cups with the pitcher she was holding. There was just enough to fill them, and silently she hoped that Annabeth had been right about the strength of the potion. If she wasn't, than Hazel may have just doomed this whole thing.

"To extra beer and beautiful company," Sandy said, winking at the girls and raising his glass. The other three raised their glasses as well, before moving to drink from them.

Hazel took a deep breath, before taking a long sip from the cup.


	41. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Carefully Jason and Piper made their way through the back halls of the castle, all of which should be abandoned by this time of night. So far all of them had been. Jason tried to reason that even if they hadn't been no one would bother them for being there anyway. Ever since he had become the prince's personal guard rather than just another random boy in a uniform people seemed to care a whole lot less about where he went, and Piper had free reign of the castle to go anywhere she wished.

Still, if someone did notice them, walking towards the dungeons, together, what would they tell them? It suddenly occurred to him how absurd it was that they hadn't thought of an answer to that. They should have figured all of that out before hand.

"Relax." Piper seemed to be reading his thoughts, and when he looked over at her she was giving him a reassuring smile "It's going to be fine. The guards should be out by now, and Annabeth should be reaching the tunnel."

"I know," Jason said, nodding a bit and forcing himself to give her a smile as well "Just nerves. This isn't exactly something I do often."

"What?" Piper faked surprise as she looked over at him with mock curiosity "You mean this isn't how you usually spend your nights?"

"No, I can't say that it is," Jason agreed, relaxing a bit more at the teasing, having something to keep himself focused on rather than just what could go wrong "Why, how many times have you done this?"

"In this castle? Never." A small smirk crossed Piper's face as Jason looked over "But other places? Well, who knows-"

"So- never," Jason laughed a bit.

"Maybe," Piper said, before coming to a stop as they turned into the last hallway. The one that would lead down to the dungeons, and to the secret passageway. The light air of a few seconds before disappeared as they stopped.

"Here we go," Jason murmured, taking a deep breath, before looking back at Piper and giving her a small smile "If all goes well, I'll see you tomorrow. If not- well who knows."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

There was a confidence in her voice that Jason wished he had. He couldn't help but wonder if she was actually confident, or had just trained her voice to sound like that, given that she would likely have to reassure people a lot as a princess.

Jason nodded, giving her one last smile before turning to start down the hallway. Before he made it a step though, Piper took his wrist, stopping him. He looked back in confusion, but before he could say anything he felt her lips press into his cheek. Than a soft voice "For luck."

Before Jason could even fully process it, Piper had turned, and walked back around the corner to take up her spot. Jason watched her for a moment, before shaking his head. Now wasn't the time to think about it.

Taking a deep breath, he turned, and slipped through the door, down to the dungeons.

* * *

Honestly how easy it had been to convince her father that she should stay late to finish filing things was a little annoying. Annabeth had been secretly working on the filing in her free time for the last few days, getting it all done as quickly as possible in order to have little to none of it to actually do tonight. As she expected her father hadn't noticed, and was still more than happy to have her stay late to work on it tonight.

The actual filing she did have left took her less than an hour. Annabeth had spent the rest of the time doing pretty much anything that could keep her busy. None of the books that scattered the desk had been able to keep her attention, and her brain was far too occupied with thoughts of the plan unfolding to get extra busy work done. Every time she tried her brain just started coming up with everything that could go wrong again, and those thoughts weren't going to help anything.

In the end, she found herself glancing through an old history book, reading over the events of a battle, and starting to draw up alternative strategies. It had started as a game between her and her father when she was younger. He would read her a battle, and than they would come up with what she would have done differently if she was the losing commander. He had, of course, quickly lost interest in the game after a year or so, but Annabeth enjoyed it, and had continued it past his loss of interest.

By the time she needed to start towards the courtyard the start of a very detailed battle plan was drawn up on a spare piece of parchment. Sighing a bit, Annabeth pushed herself up and carefully rolled up the paper, slipping it into a drawer and closing the book. Than, she just grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.

The halls were empty, which didn't surprise her. Most of the area around her father's office was dedicated to similar jobs, and almost all of the men who worked there were gone before dinner. Now it was over an hour after dinner. Silently she wondered if her father would be surprised by how late she had stayed. Probably not. More than likely he wouldn't even think about it until she came home.

Shaking her head a bit, she cleared the thoughts again and instead focused on what was happening around her. Frank and Hazel should already be gone and safely out of the way. Jason would probably just be starting to make his way to the dungeons, which meant that Piper was already in position as well. Percy was- well hopefully he was keeping himself out of sight until needed.

The plan was solid. Yes, there were things that could go wrong, but that was true of every plan. She was reassured by the fact that it seemed to be the most foolproof one that she could come up with. The most likely part to go wrong was Hazel's, and since no one had come running into the office to tell her they needed to change something, she was fairly sure it had been successful.

That reassured her, and as she made her way out the side door of the castle and into the courtyard, Annabeth actually found herself smiling slightly. This was going to work. If she spent the rest of the night worrying that it wouldn't than she would just be distracted. There was no point in worrying until she knew for sure there was something to worry about.

"It must be my lucky day."

Annabeth froze, the voice instantly recognizable. It was very much not her lucky day. She was still a few feet away from the spot on the wall where the door to the tunnel was hidden, and even if she was standing right next to it, it wasn't like she could disappear with him looking right at her. For a split second her brain raced through her options, before reluctantly she realized that there really was only one.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to smile as she turned around to face the young man standing behind her. "Luke. What are you doing here? Especially this late at night."

"My mentor had some business meetings with some of the ambassadors staying at the castle, he wanted me to accompany him," Luke gave her the charming smile "Standard business. Mostly I just sat and took notes, bored out of my mind."

"I can imagine," Annabeth agreed, and honestly she could. Luke had always been even more fidgety than her, it was hard for her to picture him sitting through meetings. Mentally she shook that away from her thoughts. She didn't have time for any of this. Luckily she had given herself some extra time, leaving a little early, so if she got rid of him quickly enough it wouldn't be an issue.

"All worth it now though," Luke replied, still grinning at her "Are you on your way out? I would be happy to walk you."

"Oh- uh- no I wasn't leaving," Annabeth replied quickly. It should have occurred to her that this was what he was going to ask, and of course it appeared that she was leaving. "I have some work to finish for my father, I just needed to go for a walk to clear my head. The words were starting to jumble together."

"That's a shame," Luke replied, and to Annabeth's slight annoyance he did actually seem disappointed. Instead of walking away, he just continued to smile at her "Still, I suppose a short walk is better than nothing. If you'll have me?"

Annabeth wanted so badly to say no. To tell him to just leave, or that she needed to be alone, but there was no real way for her to do that that wouldn't raise red flags. As much as she didn't really want to be around Luke, she had been pretending for months that she did. She didn't care about blowing up that facade, but doing so now would just raise more questions. Likely it would end up being just as long as if she just let him go on a "walk" with her.

"I hate to disappoint you, but I was actually on my way back," Annabeth tried, though immediately knew it made no sense. She had been walking away from the door that lead to the library, not towards it. Quickly she amended it with "I was heading back through the kitchens, figured I could maybe grab a snack if anyone was still in there. It's probably too late for that, but worth a try."

The kitchen was out of the way of the exit that Annabeth knew Luke would be using to get back to his home. Surely his desire to spend time with her and act charming wouldn't extend to going so far out of his way.

"Well, a short walk than," Luke replied, shrugging slightly as he took a few steps closer to her, and to her annoyance offered her his arm "Shall we?"

Silently Annabeth swore, brain spinning to come up with any reason not to take the arm, but none came. Her brain raced. If they walked quickly and she ran from her father's office back to the door, than maybe she could still make it. But only if she stopped wasting time.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth smiled at him and took the arm "That would be wonderful."


	42. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

It was hard for Percy to judge how much time had passed. He had tried to get there early, but now realized the stupidity of that. There was no real way for him to know for sure if ten minutes had passed or twenty, and he had never been good at just judging time. He would either get distracted and wait to long, or get anxious and go to early. Really it wouldn't be the end of the world if he was to go a little early, but the earlier he went the longer he would have to get the guard to chase him for, and the more chance there was of getting caught.

So he sat, just far enough and off to the side enough that a bush blocked him from view of the guard standing outside the gate. It was dark enough that unless he moved he was confident that he wouldn't be noticed, which was good. He couldn't be noticed until it was time.

At first he had been able to at least watch the people coming and going, and that had been somewhat entertaining, but now the gate was pretty much abandoned. That was somewhat of a sign that he should be able to go soon, but he still waited, his eyes moving to examine the wooded area around him.

Movement caught the corner of his eye, and immediately Percy was looking at the gate again. It took a moment for him to realize what was happening, but when he did he immediately shifted to a crouching position. His eyes followed two boys as they lead two horses out of the gate and a little ways into the woods. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but one of the boys was very clearly Frank Zhang.

Percy had met Frank a few times, namely when he had been learning how to ride, but he hadn't spoken to him since the beging of this whole mess. Had he misunderstood the plan? No. Frank was supposed to leave the horses inside the stable for Jason and Leo. So what was going on?

Slowly as to not draw attention to himself, Percy started to move forward. A little way away from the gate, just out of view of the soldier standing guard, the boys stopped. The second one, who Percy couldn't place in the darkness of the night, tied off his horse to one of the trees, and Frank moved to do the same. There was a short conversation, and than the second boy left. It was only when he was sure that the boy was out of sight and ear shot that Percy finally came forward, stepping out of the shadows of the trees around him "What's going on?"

He didn't say it accusingly or like he was angry, but that he was just curious as to why Frank was there. That didn't stop Frank from jumping at his appearance though, than blink a bit in surprise, clearly not really believing Percy was there. Someone must have told him Percy would be, but hearing it and seeing him in the middle of the woods dressed like a commoner were two different things.

"M'lord- I didn't see you there," Frank said quickly, luckily keeping his voice down, though to Percy's slight annoyance he bowed. Was it really that automatic? They were in the middle of the woods, and honestly Frank looked more princely at the moment than Percy did.

"It's alright Frank, given the situation, I think you can drop the formalities," Percy tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice, knowing that Frank probably had just thought that was what he was supposed to do "What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to go out the front gate, and what's up with the horses?"

"One of my friends noticed me in the stable, I had to come up with a reason, and that reason involved taking the horses I'd saddled out here," Frank explained briefly "Don't worry, I left a message for Jason that he should be able to find to meet me out here to get the horses instead."

"Sounds like you've got it under control than," Percy agreed, nodding a bit, before glancing back in the direction of the guard for a moment, before a thought occurred to him "Do you know how much longer until they'll be reaching the gate?"

Frank hesitated for a moment, and Percy could tell he was doing mental math on how long it had been. Jason and Leo were supposed to reach the stable about a half hour after he left, but obviously there had been some added time with everything that had happened.

"About fifteen minutes," Frank offered, though really he didn't sound all that sure. Percy made a mental note about it anyway. He should probably wait at least ten more minutes than.

"Thank you," Percy didn't point out how unsure Frank sounded. It didn't matter, there was no way to confirm or deny the time line he gave, and it was probably better than the timeline Percy had in his head. "Good luck."

"You too," Frank nodded and didn't offer anything else. Percy just nodded in agreement, before turning to slip back into the spot where he had been hiding before, eyes trained on the guard.

* * *

It had been remarkably simple to grab the keys and slip past the passed out bodies of the guards and down into the dungeons. Jason felt like there should have been something more he had to do, but he wasn't about to complain. Instead he just walked down the row of cells until he came to the one he wanted. Luckily most of the other prisoners had already went to sleep, nothing better to do with their night anyway, and Leo was in a cell by himself. Jason had debated wearing his guard outfit to attract less attention from the other prisoners when he removed Leo, but decided the risk was less if he was in black clothes. A guard uniform would narrow down who he could have been.

Without a word he moved to the cell where Leo was already waiting, grinning a bit as he looked through the bars. Of course Leo would be excited. A daring escape from a castle dungeon? That was exactly Leo's idea of fun.

"Stop grinning like an idiot-" Jason said under his breath as he started to flip through keys to find the one he needed "You do realize how horribly this will end if it goes wrong, right?"

"Aw- come on- where's your sense of adventure?" Leo teased, though to Jason's relief he kept his voice down as well. Hopefully no one around them could hear him."Worrying about it at this point won't change anything, might as well enjoy it."

"I swear you're going to be the death of me," Jason murmured, but there was fondness in his voice as he did so. He tried not to think about how Leo wasn't going to be around after tonight. Instead he just slipped the key into the lock and opened the door "Come on, let's get going."

"Hey! Boy! Pass those keys over here."

Jason swore a bit under his breath, other prisoners realizing what was happening and starting to call for the keys as well. Ignoring them, Jason turned to head back past the cells and to the door leading to the stairs. To his relief, Leo did the same without any sort of brag or joke to the others.

Reaching the top, Jason headed towards the small closet where supplies and keys were kept. He heard Leo behind him, and the door to the dungeons closing.

"Hazel!"

Jason dropped the keys and heard the clank as they hit ground almost as loudly as the word that Leo had said, voice filled with surprise and concern.

Turning, Jason saw him kneeling down next to where Hazel was laying on the floor, frantically looking her over. Letting out a sigh, Jason reached down to pick up the keys that had been dropped "She's fine- I checked when I got here. She's just asleep. Whatever they gave to the guards to make them pass out she must have taken it too."

Why she'd taken it, Jason had no idea. Why there were two pitchers. Why another girl was also passed out a little way away. Jason had no idea why any of it had happened, but if Hazel was alright, than it probably didn't matter.

When he turned back from locking the key closet though, he saw Leo still leaning over her, looking her over. Jason sighed a bit, walking over and placing a hand on his friends shoulder "I know you're worried, but we have to go. We have to get out of here before someone realizes that the other girl didn't return to her duties."

"Right," Leo nodded a bit, though he still lingered for a moment before finally pushing himself up. Jason could tell he was still worried, still reluctant, but before he could come up with something else he could say to reassure him, Leo seemed to shake it off. Turning he looked back at Jason, his face formed into a smile again, though Jason knew it was more forced than normal "Well- come on then, daring escape is underway."

Jason nodded, squeezing his friend's shoulder a bit, before turning to start leading the way to the door at the edge of the room. He went out first, glancing around to make sure no one was there, before motioning Leo out after him. It was a short walk down the hallway to the point where Annabeth had shown him the secret door would open. Glancing around once more, Jason reached up and knocked.

Nothing happened.

Frowning, Jason glanced around, before knocking again.

Nothing happened.

"Um- Jason?" Leo asked, glancing around for a moment, before looking back at him "Isn't this the part where we get the hell out of here?"

Jason ignored him, knocking again, and when nothing happened, panic finally started to rise up in him. Despite that he tried to keep his voice calm as he spoke "I'm trying Leo- this is where the door Annabeth showed me was-"

"So open it up and let's get out of here-" Leo was trying to keep his voice calm as well, but Jason could hear the worry in it.

"I can't- the door only opens from inside the tunnel, Annabeth is supposed to be here to open it when I knock-" But she wasn't. Not sure what else to do, Jason reached up to knock one more time, before glancing around. Should they make a break for the door? The hall was a dead end, deliberately in an attempt to make escape harder, but they could go back to the passage where Piper was waiting to try and intercept anyone that headed towards the dungeons.

For a moment he just stood there, before turning "Come on- we're going out the side door instead-"

Leo nodded, following Jason as they headed towards the corner where the dungeon hallway lead to the rest of the castle. Just as they were about to reach it though, Jason pulled up short.

Two voices could be heard from around the corner. One was Piper. The other was one that Jason couldn't place. It didn't matter. They couldn't go out that way.

Leo stopped too, before very softly, basically right next to Jason's ear, said "What do we do now?"

Jason didn't know. Unless Annabeth showed up or Piper managed to send whoever it was away, there was no way out of the hallway. For all intents and purposes, they were as trapped as Leo had been in the cell.


	43. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Annabeth was very aware of the time slipping away as they walked back to the study. She hadn't been able to ditch Luke, and it was hard to try and walk fast without opening up questions for why she was doing that. It was harder than usual for her to pay attention, her mind wandering to her mental clock instead, a time piece that she knew was incredibly unreliable.

It had been stupid of her to wait in the study at all. She should have just went to the tunnel as soon as her father left, but she had thought it made more sense if she pushed it off as long as possible. Just in case someone walked by and noticed she wasn't actually there and it came up later. It would blow her alibi. But really, why would it come up? Who would care if she was actually in the study or not? She'd been to clever for her own good, and now she was stuck, potentially ruining this whole thing.

"Are you alright?" Luke asked, jerking Annabeth out of her thoughts for about the fifth time.

"Yes, I'm alright," Annabeth assured, looking over to give him a quick smile as they continued to walk "I'm sorry, my brain is just distracted thinking about the few things I have left to do before going home. Mentally figuring out how I'm going to finish so that I it takes as little time as possible, you know?"

"Of course, nothing to worry about," Luke assured, giving her the charming smile, though Annabeth could tell that he didn't completely understand what she had said. That didn't matter. What mattered was that he had accepted it.

To Annabeth's relief, they soon turned the corner to the study, and only half a minute after that they reached the door. Quickly she unlocked the door, before turning to smile at Luke, nodding a bit "Thank you for accompanying me- I won't keep you from your home, and probably dinner, any longer."

"The pleasure is mine," Luke assured, still smiling at her as he bowed slightly, and Annabeth couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be genuine or teasing. "I wouldn't mind sticking around, if you wanted company on your way home? I could even help with the filing."

"Oh- no, thank you, but it's really a one person job and I would feel bad keeping you here," Annabeth said quickly, silently begging him to just leave already. She needed to go. He needed to go so she could go.

"If you're sure." Was Annabeth imagining it, or was he actually relieved? Honestly she wouldn't have been surprised if it had just been an attempt to charm her, as really filing didn't strike her as something Luke would be interested in. Actually it sounded like something he'd probably hate.

"Positive," Annabeth assured, smiling and nodding at him "Thank you again. I hate to kick you out, but I really would like to get this done as soon as possible. I'm sure I will see you soon."

To her relief, he nodded. Did that stupid smile ever actually leave his face? "I hope so. Good luck with your filing."

As soon as he turned around, Annabeth closed the door, removing any chance of further conversation. Trying to keep her brain from racing ahead, she forced herself to count out three minutes. Three minutes to wait for Luke to leave. One hundred and eighty seconds.

She reached One hundred and twelve, before her raising worry got the better of her and she opened the door, making sure it was clear, before slipping into the hallway again.

* * *

Piper couldn't help but feel bad for the girl that was standing in front of her. The poor girl had explained to her four times how to get from where they were standing to the room Piper was staying in. Every time she explained it, Piper would politely ask clarifying questions until it got to the point where the girl just had to explain it all over again.

It really wasn't fair. She could tell the girl was annoyed and getting frustrated. Piper wanted nothing more than to just assure her that she had it figured out and let the girl go on her way, but she couldn't. On the girl's way was right down the hallway that Leo and Jason would be walking through.

But she also couldn't let the girl show her to her room, because if someone else came along she wouldn't be here to stop them. So, all she could do was insist that she didn't want the girl to go out of her way to show her where it was, and that she just had a question, or just needed to hear it one more time. Piper made a mental note to ask Hazel who this girl was and to do something nice for her some point down the line.

"Does that make sense m'lady?" The girl asked for probably the twelth time in the last few minutes.

Piper smiled at her and nodded "Yes, I believe it does. Now- could you just remind me which hallway-"

Before she could finish, and the look of defeat the girl was fighting back could get harder for her to hide, a voice cut down the hallway "What on Earth is going on? How long does it take-"

The sharp voice stopped short as the older woman stopped suddenly, realizing who it was that was standing in the hallway. Piper looked at the woman with slight surprise, recognizing immediately that this must by the housekeeper, Miss Dodds. She looked as confused as Piper felt for a moment, before curtsying quickly "I'm sorry Your Highness I didn't see you there. I didn't mean to interrupt I was just coming to find out what was taking Mary so long."

"That would be my fault I'm afraid," Piper replied, giving the woman a small apologetic smile "I'm afraid I was exploring and got a bit lost. Mary has been kind enough to help explain to me how to get back to my room, but I am rather rubbish at directions."

God she hated this. Playing the roll of confused, lost, damsel in distress. It had been bad enough with the other girl, who appeared to be younger than her, but Piper had heard enough about Miss Dodds from Hazel to make it worse. This was a woman who liked to have power over people, and though Piper knew she had to act polite, she had no doubt the woman liked this sort of situation. But right now this situation was the only thing between Jason and Leo and being found out.

"Of course, say no more Your Highness, the staff's first duty is always to help you," Miss Dodds said quickly, though clearly still wanting to be in control, turned towards the girl again "Mary, why don't you show the princess to her room. I will finish here."

"Yes ma'am," Mary nodded a bit at that, while Piper's mind raced. She couldn't turn that down. There was no logical way for her to stop Miss Dodds from going down the hallway, and she was sure the woman would insist on Mary showing her to her room at this point. She could only stall for a couple more minutes.

* * *

The second voice made both Jason and Leo freeze for a moment, looking over at each other with wide eyes. Piper had been doing a good job of stalling the first person, they had heard her talk her in circles as they waited silently by the door, constantly praying that it would open at any second. But Miss Dodds was different. The woman liked to be in charge and she liked to have a plan. And with two people there now, Piper's claims that she didn't want to distract the girl from her duties or waste her time by having her walk all the way to Piper's room would quickly die. There was no reason for the girl not to just show her the way back now.

They could go back to the room they had come through, but to what aval? Anyone who was coming down this hallway must be going there. Miss Dodds was probably going to check on the girl who was passed out with Hazel and the guards. As soon as they were seen to be passed out the castle would be on alert. They could hide Leo back in his cell, but the others who had seen them in the dungeon would probably be eager to talk. Plus, where would Jason go? He couldn't even pretend he had shown up to offer to relieve them and found them in this state. Silently he cursed the decision to wear black instead of his guard uniform. It probably wouldn't have been questioned that much, just assumed he stole it.

"Come on Annabeth-" Jason hissed, glancing at the door again. She wouldn't just abandon them. Something had happened, and all he could do about it was pray she would show up any second.

If they couldn't hide, and if Annabeht didn't show up, then there was really only one option. Fight. Jason had no doubt he could get them passed Miss Dodd, than they could make a run for the side door. That was when the real fighting would probably start. Leo didn't have a weapon, and even if he did Leo wasn't trained in any sort of combat. Jason would probably be overpowered quickly, but it was better than being backed into a corner with nowhere to go.

Taking a deep breath, he turned away from the door, instead taking a few steps towards the hall entrance. Staying close to the wall, and waiting.

* * *

Annabeth ran. She knew it would draw more attention. She knew it was more likely someone would see her, or she would run into Luke again, or she would trip and hurt herself, but she didn't care. She needed to get to the door, and she needed to get there as soon as possible.

She reminded herself that Piper was there to block anyone going to the dungeon. That even if Piper hadn't been there it was unlikely anyone would show up. Leo and Jason were probably just standing around in a hallway killing time, sharing some time together before Leo had to leave. They probably weren't in trouble. She probably hadn't screwed this whole thing up or sent Jason to a cell along with Leo.

Annabeth ran harder.

* * *

"That's really not necessary, but thank you Miss Dodds," Piper said quickly, doing her best not to sound to invested, and keeping herself in the way of either of them going father down the hallway "I believe I've got it now. If one of you could just remind me which way I turn after I pass the library?"

"It is no trouble your highness," Miss Dodds assured. God she liked to be in charge. "And I'm sure it would be more helpful to simply have someone show you the way than explaining it. I can finish Mary's task and she can show you to your room."

Piper wanted to argue, but she was in a corner. She debated trying to make a fuss in order to give Jason and Leo more time, but by this point they should be out of the hallway anyway, right? Her making a fuss would just draw attention to something being wrong and make it more likely to be discovered.

"Thank you," Piper agreed, trying not to sound reluctant as she nodded "I appreciate it greatly."

She wanted to say something else to stall, but there was nothing else to say, and before she could Miss Dodds was curtsying again "It is our pleasure Your Highness."

"Right this way m- Your Highness," Mary curtseyed as well, before turning to lead the way, leaving Piper no choice but to follow. Miss Dodds was already heading towards the hallway to the dungeon, her heels clicking as she walked.

* * *

Leo had the odd urge to reach into his pocket and pull out… something, to do... something with. He had always been good at improvising. But right now his pockets were empty, and a pair of heels was clicking towards the hallway.

They could go back to the cells, but where would Jason go? There was nothing to hide behind in this hall.

Click. Click. Click.

He looked over at Jason, questioning. Jason was looking at where the woman would appear. His hand was ready to pull his sword.

Click. Click.

Leo's eyes grew wide. His hand shot forward to grab Jason's wrist. Jason couldn't. If Leo were to run right now he could divert the person's attention, give Jason time to get away. This was all for him anyway.

"Go back to the room, I'll lead them away-" Leo hissed, trying to move in front of Jason. Jason put out a hand to stop him.

Click. Click.

"We're in this together-"

"Jason, don't be an idiot-"

Click.

* * *

Annabeth pulled open the door to the short passageway without even really looking around. She did a quick glance around as she ran up, but not nearly as detailed as she normally would. She didn't have the time.

The door took a strong pull to open, but fell shut quickly behind her as she ran down the dark passage.

* * *

"Leo, let go-" Jason hissed, jerking his arm free of his friend's grip. They were in this together, just like they had been for years.

Click.

Jason steeled himself, ready to run or fight depending on who turned the corner. Leo slipped past on the side of his vision, taking matters into his own hands. Jason moved to block him, but he was to late.

Thump.

Jason's hand caught Leo's wrist. The wall next to them swung open. Without waiting to see if it was Annabeth, Jason lurched towards the opening, pulling Leo behind him. Who else would be opening secret passages in the walls anyway?

Click. Click.

They stumbled into the narrow passage. Jason felt himself push past someone standing there. He tripped on the uneven floor, landing on the ground. Leo fell on top of him. The rectangle of light on the floor from the castle hallway was getting smaller.

There was a soft thud, as the door found its place in the wall behind them.

* * *

Annabeth was breathing hard as she looked down at the two boys now laying on the floor in front of her. It was hard to make them out in the darkness of the tunnel, but her eyes had adjusted enough to be able to pick out which one was Leo and which Jason.

Groaning, Jason moved to push himself up, Leo rolling into the wall in the cramped space as he tried to get off his friend. Annabeth was just starting to feel better, she had made it, nothing had happened, the night was still going as planned, when Jason spoke, voice soft "We have to go- whoever that was is going to find the guards, and than the castle will be on high alert."

"What?" Annabeth blinked a bit in surprise as she glanced between them, guilt settling in her stomach again. How close had they come to being found?

"Yeah- a woman I think based on the footsteps. Piper kept them busy for awhile, but could only do it for so long," Jason moved to pull Leo to his feet "Come on- we have to go."

Annabthe just nodded, moving to start leading the way down the tunnel, though really she didn't have to, there was only one way to go. Neither of the boys asked why she had been so late to reach the door, and part of Annabeth wished they would so she could explain, and part of her was relieved to not have to. Either way, the three walked in silence.


	44. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The guard in front of the gate was bored out of his mind, something Percy could relate to. He hated just sitting around waiting for something to happen, especially when you weren't sure if something even would. Luckily for both of them, something was definitely about to happen.

Pulling the mask up around his face, and keeping the hood of the cloak he was wearing low, Percy slowly crept through the woods towards the gate. He had to do this right, make it seem like he was trying to sneak into the castle in order to get the guard to chase him, and to have a solid excuse for why he was near the gate at all should he get caught. That was a little tricky, since really there was no logical way a thief would try to get in this way, but it was the least secure entrance that was big enough for horses. In retrospect, considering Leo and Jason were leaving on foot now, they should just sneak out the way Percy usually did, but there was no way to tell them that.

After one last quick glance around, Percy picked up a rock, throwing it at the wall near the guard. The rock made a bit of a clunk, making the guard glance down to where it had landed than look towards where Percy was in confusion. Carefully Percy moved a little bit away from the spot and threw another rock. Again the guard looked at the spot than near where the rock had hit, than back to around where Percy was still hiding. One more throw was all it took to get him to start walking towards the trees Percy was hiding near.

As the guard approached the trees, Percy slipped along sideways, getting to a spot where he was behind the guards back before dashing towards the door. As predicted, this did not work.

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" The guard had turned back around and was moving towards Percy.

Without answering, Percy turned and moved back towards the woods. The guard ran towards him. Percy ducked to the side, sticking his foot out to trip the man, before dashing towards the woods. The man stumbled, than turned to run after him.

The trip really wasn't necessary, except that it made things personal. Now, hopefully, the guard would be willing to chase him through the woods for as long as Percy wanted him too.

* * *

After the insanity of almost getting caught in the hallway, the trip down the passageway and to the stable was almost relaxing. Jason knew the calm wouldn't last, it was only a matter of time until whoever it had been in the hall spread word to the rest of the castle and the guards started swarming the grounds. If they didn't make it out before that happened it would be ten times harder to get out, no matter what gate they used.

So even if he was more relaxed, he was still moving fast. Annabeth had apologized repeatedly on the walk down the passage, but they had been in such a rush that Jason hadn't even really figured out why she was so late. It didn't matter. He could find that out later. When there was time.

It was remarkably easy to make it from where the passage let out to the stables. It was when they were about to reach the door that Jason heard voices, louder than normal talking volume. Shouting orders.

Grabbing Leo's arm, he pulled him down, ducking behind some of the barrells that were stored outside of the stable. Leo didn't protest, just crouched on the ground next to Jason, both boys waiting as a group of guards, five by Jason's count, moved past them. Once they were gone Jason pushed himself up, hurring to the door and pulling it open for Leo to slip in before doing so himself.

"We have to hurry. The guards are starting to go on alert. We need to get out before they put more guards on the gate." As he pulled the door shut, Jason looked out of the window in the wall next to it, watching for more guards coming their way "If anyone noticies us taking the horses we'll have a whole army on-"

"Um- Jason?"

Quickly Jason turned to look at Leo, raising an eyebrow a bit "What?"

"The horses we're supposed to take aren't here," Leo said, motioning towards the very empty stalls "And none of the others are saddled."

Immediately Jason's eyes shifted to scan the stalls. Leo was right. The horses Frank had said he would saddle for them weren't in the stable at all. The rest were in their stalls, but none of them were saddled, and most looked half asleep as they glanced over at the boys.

"What do we do?" Leo asked, looking at Jason, clearly trying to hide the fact that he was starting to panic.

For the first time Jason realized just how much Leo was trusting him. There hadn't been anyway to fill him in on the full plan. It had been hard enough to tell him when it was happening and to be ready without raising alarm. They couldn't actually tell him without risking one of the other prisoners overhearing and telling a guard in order to try and get themselves released, possibly even a reward. The only reason Leo had even known they were supposed to go to the stable to get two horses, and that they should have been saddled already, is because Jason had given him a basic rundown in the passageway. Leo had gone into this almost completely blind. He must have thought Jason was crazy knocking over and over again on the wall, but he had trusted him. And now Jason had to figure out what to do. He couldn't let him down.

They could try to saddle two of the horses, but they probably didn't have time. The guards were already on the move, so they already had limited time. They could just leave without horses, but then it would take forever to reach the meeting point. It might be the only option though.

What the hell had happened to Frank?

"We have to go," Jason decided, moving to look out the window again to see if anyone was on the other side. Before he even reached it he heard voices on the other side of the door. Without thinking, he shoved Leo towards one of the empty stalls, making sure he ducked into it before doing the same with the other.

A horse blanket lay on the ground, and Jason reached forward to grab it as the door to the stable opened. He crouched down in the corner closest to the door, the hardest place to see without actually looking into the stall, and pulled the blanket over himself.

There were heavy footsteps, and the deep voice of two men talking as they entered. Jason forced himself not to hold his breath as he waited. In the wood of the door to the stall he noticed a small hole, probably from a knot in the wood.

"Two of the horses are missing."

"There's no way they managed to get two horses through the gate without someone noticing."

Carefully Jason shifted so he could peak through the hole. It was hard to tell what was happening. The hole was low, probably about knee high, maybe a little higher. It also only allowed a very limited view area, just a glimpse of the stall across from him, the one he'd pushed Leo towards.

"Where else could the horses have gone?"

"I don't know, but how could they have gotten out with them?"

Jason's breath caught a bit. A pair of legs crossed his line of sight. For a moment they paused, before turning towards the stall where Leo was hiding.


	45. Chapter 44

There was something thrilling about the had felt the same way the first few times he'd snuck in and out of the castle, though there'd never been a moment like this where someone was actively chasing him. That made this whole thing a bit thrilling. Maybe he was a little cocky, but he wasn't worried about being caught.

It wasn't that he really thought he couldn't be caught, but that thinking he would be wouldn't help. Worrying about being caught would just distract him from what he was doing. And focus was especially important now, since he couldn't just find a way to ditch the guard. He needed to let the guard stay on his tail, close enough that he wouldn't give up the chase, but far enough away that he didn't actually get caught.

Ducking through the trees, Percy glanced back. The guard was starting to fall behind. After a moment, Percy slowed down a bit. He was fine with lowering the rate honestly. As thrilling as this whole thing was, it had been going for awhile and he was starting to wear out.

Actually, he was fairly impressed with how long he had kept going at the pace he had been. A few months ago he wouldn't have been able to do it, but now it had been almost easy. The training and exercise he had been getting, along with a generally more balanced diet, seemed to be paying off.

Glancing behind him again to try and make sure he'd matched his pace well, Percy blinked in surprise. The guard was close. Closer than Percy wanted him to be. Either he had miscalculated how much to slow down, or the guard had figured out this was a game and slowed down on purpose to catch him.

Percy scrambled to speed up again. His foot caught on something. He stumbled, but managed to keep himself from falling. Getting his balance, Percy pushed off to run again.

He was jerked roughly backwards. A hand was locked on the back of his shirt, and twist as he might, he couldn't break it loose.

* * *

As the door clicked shut behind her, Annabeth let out a sigh of relief. So it hadn't gone completely as planned, but she had gotten there in time. Just barely in time, but in time made a mental note that she owed Jason, and probably Piper too, something to make up for what had happened. Leo as well, but she wasn't actually sure she would ever see Leo again, which would make that more difficult.

She had watched Leo and Jason dash to the stable, and now her job was to just get out of the castle as quickly as possible to dissuade any ideas that she might have had something to do with the break out. That knowledge wasn't nearly as relaxing as she had been expecting it to be. Her mind raced with worry about the others and rethinking every aspect of the plan. It was her plan, she should have put more of the risk on herself, but it wouldn't have been logical to do so. Still, she found herself wishing that there was more for her to do, and that at this point it wasn't so completely out of her hands.

Annabeth was halfway through the courtyard, heading towards one of the side gates, when the first group of guards ran by. None of them seemed at all interested in her, and she could hear orders being shouted among them. Word had gotten out. Whoever had been about to catch Leo and Jason had found the passed out guards and hurried to tell someone.

Her eyes flicked to the stable. It was on the opposite side of the courtyard from where she was, close to the side gate Jason and Leo were supposed to use. She had been trying to keep the stable in her peripheral vision, and if she was right, no horses had left yet. Her stomach sank a bit. What was taking so long?

Slowing her pace, Annabeth listened to the guards hurring past, and kept shifting her focus back to the stable. It wasn't long before she saw a pair of guards enter,and there had still been no sign of Leo or Jason leaving.

Annabeth debated for just a moment, before glancing around. No one was paying attention to her. The guards that were moving around were far more preoccupied with searching for the prisoner than with her.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth switched directions, hurrying towards the stable.

* * *

Leo would have no way of knowing what was happening. He probably couldn't see the pair of boots moving towards him the way Jason could. Or at least, Jason assumed he couldn't. He was completely unprepared.

Taking a deep breath, Jason pulled the blanket off, moving towards the center of the stall, and changing position. This would be a lot harder than it would have been to bypass the person in the hallway, but he could do it. Or at least, he could stall them long enough for Leo to get out, or if they found him they might give up on the stable and take him to the captain.

His hands pressed to the ground. Jason took a deep breath. His legs pushed to leap up.

The door crashed open, drawing the guards attention and Jason tried to stop his jump mid push, resulting with him landing rather awkwardly on the ground. Silently he prayed they hadn't heard him.

"I just saw someone running across the courtyard, towards the east gate."

Annabeth, Jason realized immediately. She must have seen the guards enter on her way back and come to try and help. Relief and gratitude over took his emotions, and he made a mental note to thank her for it later. Not only was she getting them out of the stable, but sending them on a wild goose chase to the wrong side of the courtyard. He just hoped it wouldn't end up backfiring on her down the line.

"Come on," one of the guards said, and a moment later Jason heard the door close again. Jason made himself count to thirty to listen for any sign that they hadn't all left before he pushed himself up.

Leo did not show such restraint, poking his head over the stall before Jason had reached twenty.

"Come on, we have to go- Frank is waiting for us."

"What?" Jason looked up at him in confusion, before pushing himself up "What are you talking about?"

"Frank left a message in the stall- I scratched it out so others wouldn't see, but he's waiting for us outside the gate with the horses," Leo pulled open the stall to let Jason out.

"Right," Jason nodded, wanting to ask questions but instead just trusting Leo, just like Leo was trusting him. "Let's get out of here."


	46. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The guard didn't believe Percy that he was the prince or that he hadn't been trying to break into the castle. To be fair, Percy probably wouldn't have believed himself either. He was wearing common clothing, there was a mask over his face before the guard pulled it off, and it just wasn't the sort of situation you expected to find the prince in. Besides, most of the guards had only ever seen him at a distance, and to be fair Percy had no idea who the guard was either.

Whoever he was, Percy did have to applaud him on his ingenuity. Faced with what he assumed was an attempted thief that refused to stop trying to squirm out of his grasp and no rope or other form of restraint, the guard had slipped off his belt and used that to secure Percy's hands in front of him. Now he had one hand carrying his sword, and the other tightly gripping the back of Percy's shirt as he was pulled along.

"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but I promise you I wasn't going to steal anything," Percy tried again. He wasn't overly worried, what's the worst that could happen? But, Poseidon wouldn't be happy when he found out about this, so he would rather avoid it if possible "I was just out visiting friends in the village. I didn't plan out how I was going to sneak back in well enough."

The guard rolled his eyes "Right, because you're the prince, and I'm the royal hairdresser."

"Nah- the royal hairdresser has the biggest nose I've ever seen, definitely not you," Percy tried to smile a bit, but the man was not looking at him.

He did seem to hesitate for a moment though, surprised by Percy's knowledge of the man's nose, before shaking his head "No way. We'll see what the captain has to say about who you are or aren't."

The captain, Percy was sure, would recognize him instantly. He was also pretty sure that he was under orders to keep Percy in the castle however, and wasn't sure how he would respond to finding out he hadn't been. There was no question that he would tell the king. So much for any hope that somehow he wouldn't find out.

"I'm sorry for tripping you." It was an afterthought, and Percy by no means thought it would get the guard to free him, but he did feel a little bad about it. Sure, it had been necessary, but that didn't mean it made it not mean "It wasn't anything personal."

The guard just grunted and continued to lead the way through the forest. Soon enough the wall of the castle came into view, and they walked along that for about a minute before finally coming to the gate. Instead of stopping in front of it, the guard pulled out his keys and opened the door.

Another guard was standing there. Percy's stomach dropped a bit. How long had it taken for them to realize the one at the gate was gone? Had it been enough time for Leo and Jason to slip out? He had to believe it had been. Otherwise all of this had been for nothing.

"God Mark, you nearly gave me a heart attack," The second guard growled, sounding slightly annoyed "Where the hell have you been?"

"Where do you think?" The guard, who was apparently named Mark, jerked Percy forward a bit "I was chasing down an attempted thief. What are you doing here?"

"Watching your position," The second guard replied, and despite the darkness Percy was pretty sure he rolled his eyes "The castle's on lockdown, a prisoner escaped."

Percy glanced between the two men, mind racing. They knew someone had escaped, but that meant that at least part of the plan had gone through, there had just been some unforeseen event to alert the guards. He just had to hope that Leo and Jason were already out.

The second guard was eyeing Percy, looking at him for a moment before speaking again "You're sure he was trying to sneak in, not out?"

"Positive," Mark agreed, glancing over for a moment as well, before looking back "Claims he's the prince, that he snuck out to visit some friends and was trying to get back in. I don't really buy it, but do you think I should tell the captain?"

That caught the man by surprise, and he looked over at Percy for a long moment, before shaking his head "Take him to the dungeon, the captain's got bigger stuff to worry about right now. If he really is the prince I'm sure he understands our desire to be cautious."

Despite the fact that it had clearly been meant in teasing and not meant for Percy to actually reply, he nodded. Looking the guard in the eye, he mustered the most princely voice he could as he spoke "I understand completely. Please make sure word actually gets to the captain when everything has settled down, my father will be upset if I miss breakfast with no explanation."

* * *

The courtyard was a lot more busy now then it had been when they had slipped into the stable. Leo stayed close behind Jason, waiting for his signal to slip out of hiding spots and following his cue for when to hide. It wasn't that he doubted his own abilities to figure out when to do that kind of stuff, but Jason knew a lot more about how the guards worked than Leo did.

It took three times as long to reach the gate as it should have, constantly ducking down to avoid people. The pace wasn't fast enough. By the time they reached the gate someone was standing there. The guard was positioned on the inside of the gate, clearly meant to keep people in rather than the normal position meant to keep people out.

Jason swore under his breath. Glancing over, Leo watched the look on Jason's' face, calculating, figuring out anyway to get through this obstacle. Leo's brain was spinning. Jason had a sword, but Leo was weaponless. They could probably overpower the man, but not quickly enough or stealthily enough to not draw attention. They wouldn't get the gate unlocked and get out fast enough. They needed another way out. The guards thought they had horses, so they were probably guarding all of the main exits. They needed a smaller exit, one the guard wouldn't think to check…

The gate swung open. Jason tensed next to him, and Leo knew what he was thinking. If they overpowered the guard they could run out and have at least somewhat of a head start. That was the best plan they had, and this was probably the best chance they'd get if they wanted to go through the gate. Leo wasn't sure they did though. Someone else had to be on the other side too, the reason for opening the gate, and it was probably another guard. They needed somewhere with no guards, not two. Somewhere small the guards wouldn't think to look, that wasn't even meant to be an exit.

Leo grabbed Jason's arm, causing the other boy to look over at him. Not daring to speak, Leo just shook his head, willing Jason to trust him. Willing him to understand this wasn't the way. Jason glanced back at the guard, who was talking to someone on the other side of the gate. Than he looked back at Leo and nodded, agreeing to trust him.

Letting out a breath, Leo nodded back, giving Jason a quick smile before glancing around. When he was sure the coast was clear he started to lead the way along the wall of the courtyard, back the way they had come.

As Leo had predicted, the forge was abandoned. Once there, slipping inside was easy, and Leo carefully lead the way to the back tool and supply room. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Leo moved to start gathering supplies. Jason watched him for a moment before speaking "No offence Leo, but what are we doing?"

"There's a door in the back that leads outside to get coal into the forge easily," Leo explained, grabbing a spring from one of the buckets "That's how we're getting out. I just need to bust the padlock."

"But won't they be guarding that door too?" Jason asked, and Leo couldn't help but grin as he glanced up to see Jason just awkwardly standing there looking confused. He couldn't help it, he liked knowing things before other people did.

"Do you see any guards?" Leo raised an eyebrow at him before going back to what he was working on as he kept talking "The guards are in a bit of a panic, most don't even know the door is here, and those that do would know it's always padlocked. Plus, they think we're on horses, and a horse would never fit through that door. Trust me, they aren't going to be looking here. I just need to finish making something so I can bust the lock."

"Alright," Jason agreed, before going back to open the door a bit and look out, keeping watch while Leo continued to work.

After a few minutes, Leo lifted up the device he had cobbled together, grinning "This should do it, come on, let's get out of here."

"A wonderful idea," Jason agreed, checking to make sure no one was there before motioning for Leo to exit before doing so himself.

Carefully Leo slipped over to the other side of the forge and into the small coal room. It was cramped, especially with two of them, but luckily they wouldn't be staying there long. Leo crouched down next to the outer door, and very gently slipped the device into the keyhole for the lock. There was a moment of silence as they waited. Than something inside the lock broke with a clang, and the bolt popped up.

Before they could find out if anyone else had heard the clang, they were both heading into the woods, the door swinging closed behind them.

* * *

**Author's ****Note**: A few people have reached out to ask me questions or talk about Percy Jackson, both of which are super exciting! However, if you want to talk you need to have a fan fiction account. There is no way for me to reply to guest comments other then making notes on the fic, which I won't be doing. Even this one will likely be deleted in the next few weeks. Also well I'm here thanks for reading this far and I hope you continue to enjoy it!


	47. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Piper let out a sigh of relief when she heard the knock on the door, assuming it to be Hazel. She had been worried when the younger girl wasn't there when she got back to the room, but had figured Miss Dodds had asked her to do something that side tracked her way back to the room.

"Come in," Piper called, already smiling as she turned towards the door. The smile feel quickly when she saw a guard open the door rather than Hazel. Pushing herself up, she raised an eyebrow a bit "What can I help you with?"

"I'm sorry for the interruption m'lady, but an incident has occurred that the captain felt you should be made aware of."

"What sort of incident?" Piper asked, though she had a fairly good idea what it was. What else could be happening in the castle tonight that would warrant telling her about other than an escaped prisoner?

"One of the prisoners has escaped from the dungeons. We do not believe he is in the castle however, and so there is no worry about any harm coming to your person," He seemed to hesitate, as if not sure if he should go on or not.

"Thank you for the information," She nodded, though she wasn't completely sure why someone had sent him to tell her if there was no worry of her being in harm's way.

"There's more m'lady," the guard seemed to grow slightly more awkward at that, but pushed on "The men that were supposed to be guarding the door to the dungeon were found passed, we think someone drugged their drink. Your handmaiden, along with a kitchen girl, were found passed out as well."

So that's where Hazel had been. But why had she gone down to the dungeon at all? She was supposed to just give the pitcher to the girl sent to bring it down there, not go down herself. And why on earth would she have drank the ale?

"Is she alright?" Piper was already moving forward to grab a robe, as she had changed into more relaxed clothing for bed.

"Yes m'lady, at least we believe so. They were just starting to wake up when they sent me here," the guard explained.

Piper ignored the confused look, pulling the robe on and turning to look at him, raising an eyebrow again "Well, lead the way."

"I'm sorry m'lady?" The guard was clearly confused now, though Piper wasn't sure what there was to be confused about.

"You just told me that my handmaiden, a very good friend of mine, was found drugged, I am going to check on her," Piper replied, leaving no space for argument there "So, show me where they are."

"I- yes m'lady-" The guard still seemed a little uncertain, and Piper realized how young he was. With all of the guards running around and criminals on the loose it made sense that only less experienced guards would be left to run messages.

Still, he turned to head back out of the room, and Piper quickly followed him. The boy lead her through the castle again and back down towards the kitchen. Before they reached it though, the boy turned to a hallway she hadn't been down before. The hallway lead to an area lined with identical doors, which after a moment Piper realized were staff dorms, and after another turn there was a decent sized sitting area with tables and chairs spread out. It was a general area for live in staff to spend time when they weren't on duty or sleeping, and Piper had to expect that usually it was a fun light hearted area to let off steam and just talk to people.

Now though, the room was very tense. Two guards, who Piper had to assume were the two that had been guarding the dungeon, were sitting at a table in a corner of the room. For now it seemed they were being mostly ignored. Instead, an older guard, who Piper recognized from talking with Jason as Thomas, and Miss Dodds, had their attention focused on the two girls, who were sitting at a separate table. One was obviously Hazel, and the other was red-haired kitchen maid, who she assumed had been the one assigned to bring food down in the first place.

Thomas seemed to have taken on the role of investigator, asking questions about what had happened, and to Piper's annoyance he seemed mostly focused on Hazel. To be fair, Hazel _was _guilty, but it wasn't like he knew that.

Without really waiting for a good spot to interject, Piper spoke up directing her attention towards Hazel "What's going on? Are you alright?"

Hazel looked over, blinking a bit in surprise. Both Thomas and Miss Dodds seemed taken aback by the interruption, but luckily they shut up long enough for Hazel to respond. "I'm fine my lady. I still feel a little foggy from whatever was in the pitcher- and I'm not completely sure what's going on, but I"m okay."

"M'lady- we are trying to figure out what happened," Thomas said, composing himself quickly and turning towards Piper "You should be somewhere more secure."

"I was assured that the castle is secured, and told that my friend had been drugged," Piper replied, looking over at the man "Where else do you expect me to be? Shouldn't you be out trying to find the criminal rather than sitting around asking questions?"

"I was tasked with finding out what had happened," Thomas replied, clearly taken a little a back by her bluntness "Which what I'm trying to do."

"And how well do you think they can answer questions when they still have the remnants of the drugs affecting their memories and thoughts?" Piper pushed, raising an eyebrow. She felt a bit bad, sure that they man really was just doing his job, but she wanted to get Hazel out of there. If she didn't have full control of her thoughts than she might accidentally say something she'd regret later.

"It's alright my my lady," Hazel spoke up, glancing over to give Piper a quick smile, before looking back at Thomas "But I'm not sure what else there is to tell you."

"I have a question," Miss Dodds spoke up, seeming smug as she looked over at Hazel "You seemed in quite the rush to assist Princess Piper with something when you left the kitchen Miss Levesque. So why would you decide you needed to take a detour to the dungeon at all?"

It was clear that the woman thought she had her, and Piper was ready to step in, but Hazel surprised all of them with an answer "I told you, a man came up and forced the pitcher into my hands, than ran off after a hasty explanation. I was standing in the hallway, holding the pitcher, and I decided I could quickly run down to drop it off before going to meet the Princess Piper. It seemed like the only option unless I just left the pitcher in the hallway."

Piper couldn't help but be slightly impressed by how non-flustered Hazel was with all of this. She knew that Hazel was clever, but she was doing this with a slightly muddled brain, and while staying calm and collected.

The smirk had not quite left Miss Dodd's face however, and she continued with another question "Than what exactly made you stay to have a drink?"

"I am still learning to fit in here, and I felt pressure to stay. I'm a stranger, as well as not technically being a part of the staff, I was scared that should I deny, when Katherine had not, they might think I was stuck up or didn't really want to be one of them," Hazel spoke without hesitation, and Piper realized she must have already planned this. Of course she would know she would be questioned if she was found down there as well, and had planned accordingly. "In retrospect even without this whole mess it was the wrong decision, but I thought it would be quick. I made a decision. It was a bad one, but I made it."

"There you have it," Piper said, directing her attention back to Miss Dodds, and seeing the smug look turn into a slight scowl instead "Now, if you will excuse us there doesn't seem like there is much more to tell and I am sure they could all use some rest after the night they have had. Wouldn't you agree?"

She glanced around at the others, and was meet with a general sense of agreement from the guards, Hazel, and the other girl, before she turned back to Thomas "If you have any more questions I'm sure they would be more than happy to answer them tomorrow."

Piper paused for a moment, letting Thomas object if he wanted. To her relief he decided to merely nod in agreement.

"Yes, m'lady, you're right. I'm sure the captain will want to talk to you two, but for now you're dismissed," He said, looking at the guards, before turning to Miss Dodds "I will leave the girls in your charge, you are welcome to stay here as long as you need."

"Actually," Piper spoke up quickly "Hazel is not in her charge, she is in mine. And while I'm sure Miss Dodds would take great care of them both, I would prefer if she came with me."

"Of course Your Highness," Miss Dodds replied, though if Piper wasn't wrong she was annoyed by it. Piper couldn't really blame her, she was an old woman, and under normal circumstances Piper would have shown her much more respect. Now though, well she was being overruled by a sixteen year old girl, that had to sting a bit.

Hazel just nodded pushing herself up. Turning Piper lead the way out of the room, not fully relaxing until they were heading back down the hallway to her own.


	48. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Frank had been hearing the sounds of guards for awhile, but so far none had come near him. With each though, he grew more nervous, and the horses were growing more restless as well. He was reassured that at least Jason and Leo hadn't been caught yet. If they had been the guards wouldn't still be searching the woods, right?

"Hey!" Of course he was found as soon as he thought about it. That was exactly his luck. "What are you doing out here with those horses boy?"

Turning slightly, Frank saw a guard walking towards him, but it was too dark to figure out who it was exactly. "Frank Zhang. I work in the stable, and I borrowed the horses for a late night outing with a friend. I have permission."

"Frank?" The guard stepped closer to get a look at his face more properly, before nodding a bit at him. That didn't surprise Frank, despite the fact that Frank still couldn't place the guards name. Most of the guards knew him since he looked over their horses, but there were a lot more guards to keep track of than stable boys.

"Come on, the castle is on lockdown. We need to get the horses back so they're accounted for," the guard stepped towards one of the horses, presumably to help, but Frank spoke up before he could do anything.

"Wait, if I'm just not here my friend will be worried," He tried to stall, mind racing to come up with a more solid reason to not bring the horses back.

"Your friend probably got stopped and sent home," The guard shook his head "I'm sure they'll understand when you explain tomorrow. Come on."

"But I-"

Arms wrapped around the guards neck. Blinking in surprise, Frank just watched for a moment, before stepping forward to help. Before he could do anything, his attention was drawn to the bushes. Leo stepped out, holding a sword aimed Frank "Stay where you are."

Frank hesitated before doing as he was told. To his surprise he realized Jason was the one in the middle of strangling the guard. "What the hell is going on Valdez?"

"Shut up and stay where you are." Leo was doing his best to sound intimidating, but his face was clearly begging Frank to just play along. After a moment, Frank complied.

The guard stopped struggling, and Jason carefully lowered him to the ground. It was only than that Leo lowered the sword, looking at Frank with the elfish grin he normally wore, though it didn't seem quite as genuine as it usually did. "Sorry. We didn't want him to question why you didn't help once he wakes up."

"It's alright," Frank assured, glancing between them as Leo moved to hand the sword back to Jason "I'm just glad you found me. I'm sorry, I know it wasn't the plan to bring the horses out here, but circumstances changed."

"I'll fill you in later, but believe me it ended up for the best," Jason replied, moving to one of the horses "Now though, we have to go."

"Right," Leo nodded, but instead of heading to the horses, turned back to Frank, the smile a little softer now "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Frank nodded, before offering Leo his hand. The other boy seemed surprised, but took it all the same. "I'm happy I could help, and not just because it gets you out of my hair."

The elfish smile tugged at the corner of Leo's lips again as he shook Frank's hand firmly "Don't worry Zhang, this isn't the last you've seen of me. I'll be around."

"I have no doubt," Frank assured, before letting the hand fall and stepping away "Now hurry up. As soon as you guys are gone I'll yell for help and tell them you headed off in the opposite direction, that should buy you some time."

Jason looked over as Leo climbed up onto the second horse "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow Frank."

Frank just nodded, watching as they turned the horses to head off deeper into the woods. Once they had disappeared he murmured a quick "Good luck," before calling out to the other guards for help.

* * *

Riding had never been Leo's strong suit. Jason had taken him a few times, mostly because he claimed it was something Leo should learn to do, but Leo had never been particularly fond of it. If he was being honest he had never really seen a reason to learn. He had figured most of his life would be lived either in the castle, the city, or the woods surrounding them. Now he was glad that Jason had made him learn. That still didn't mean he enjoyed it.

As they rode Jason stayed quiet, just focusing on where he was going, and a little reluctantly Leo followed his example. He knew that they could still be discovered, but the farther they got away from the castle the less likely that seemed, and the more he had to fight back the desire to say something. After so long spent sneaking around and doing their best to stay as quiet as possible it felt like now was the time to finally make a joke. To somehow break the tension that had been building all night. Jason stayed quiet though, so Leo did as well.

They rode for what felt like forever to Leo, and he couldn't imagine Jason having to turn around and make the ride back that same night. Especially on his own while leading a second horse. That would likely make it take even longer.

Finally they came to a stop near one of the rivers scattered throughout the woods, and to Leo's relief Jason dismounted the horse. He quickly slipped off as well, patting the horse a little awkwardly before turning to Jason "So- what now?"

"This is the end of it," Jason replied, glancing around "Someone should be meeting us soon. Grover- Percy and Annabeth's friend- sent word to the druids to tell them what was happening and asking them to meet us here. We figured it would be best for them to get out of here as well-"

Slowly Leo nodded a bit. That made sense. The guards would be looking for him, and he doubted the search would end that night. It would be best for everyone who might be suspected of helping to be as far away as possible.

As if on cue, a girl emerged, walking through the trees towards them. Seeing Leo, she couldn't help but smile a bit, even as she said "I always knew you were going to get us into trouble one day Valdez."

"Wonderful to see you too Nyssa," Leo replied, shrugging a bit, though the smile didn't quite meet his eyes. He was causing a whole lot of trouble for them, and after they had taken him in when he was a kid. After a moment he sighed a bit and added "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, and I swear I wasn't even really doing anything wrong."

"It's alright Leo," Nyssa assured, the teasing gone as she moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder "It was only a matter of time before something happened. Things were getting dangerous here, it was time to move anyway. This was just the push to finally do it."

Leo nodded a bit, though he still felt guilty, and he was sure he would for a while to come. "Where are the others?"

"They are waiting a ways up stream. We figured it would be less risky to just send one person to retrieve you while the rest stayed hidden," Nyssa shrugged a bit, before looking past Leo to Jason, nodding to him "Thank you for all that you have done for us. I'm not sure when, if ever, we will see you again, but we are in your debt. If the time should come when we can help you with something, all you have to do is ask."

"Thank you, but that's not necessary," Jason said quickly, shaking his head "I'm just happy I was able to help."

A different part of Nyssa's statement stuck in Leo's head, repeating itself even as Jason spoke. '_I'm not sure when, if ever, we will see you again.'_

Looking back at Jason, the words rang through his head again. He wouldn't see Jason again for a long time. He had no idea how long. The full weight of what was happening hadn't really occurred to him till that moment. This had all just been a thrilling adventure up to this point, but now…

Now he had to leave his best friend, the boy he had seen nearly every day for years. The one person that new everything about his past. Who he trusted more than anyone else in the world. That he could count on no matter what. Who had been willing to risk his own safety and freedom multiple times that night alone in order to protect him. And neither of them had any idea when they would see each other again.

'_...if ever…'_

With one quick step Leo was standing in front of Jason, and with another he wrapped his arms tightly around the other boy, pulling him into a hug. For a moment Jason seemed surprised, but to Leo's relief he hugged back. "Thank you, for everything you've done for me."

"You've done plenty for me," Jason replied, and though Leo couldn't really think of a single thing he had done for Jason that even began to add up to the things Jason had done for him, he didn't argue the point. Instead he just held the embrace for a moment longer before finally breaking it.

"This isn't the end," Leo said firmly, giving Jason a small smile as he did so, trying to add a hint of his normal smirk to it "It might take awhile, but I'll be back. It's going to take a lot more than this to get rid of me. You haven't seen the last of Leo Valdez."

"I'm counting on it," Jason replied smiling at him in return, one of his hands still lingering on Leo's shoulder as he spoke "Try to keep yourself out of trouble."

"And you try to get yourself in some. I don't want to come back to find you've become completely boring," Leo teased in return, the elfish smile returning to his face, though it wasn't nearly as smug or big as usual.

"I'll do my best," Jason assured, and Leo saw the traces of a real smile behind the one he had been forcing, before sighing a bit "You should go."

"I should go," Leo agreed, though he didn't let the smile drop or let out the sigh he felt "I'll see you around."

Than he winked, before turning on his heal, and nodding to Nyssa to lead the way into the forest again. He refused to look a back. This was the only decision there was, he couldn't stay as much as he might want to. Staying would just put himself and the others at risk. But he would be back someday, he would see them all again.

Leo clutched desperately to that thought as he followed Nyssa back into the trees and out of his old life.


	49. Chapter 48

Consequences 48

It was all Annabeth could do not to run off to find Percy or Piper, or even Jason, Frank, or Hazel, as soon as she reached the castle. All she wanted to do was to find someone that could tell her what had happened the night before. But as soon as they reached her father's office an attendant was running up, swooping him off to some meetings with the king, and leaving Annabeth as stand in historian, with no way to slip out of the room.

By the time he finally returned, the morning had turned into early afternoon and Annabeth had already eaten the lunch. She had been hoping one of her friends would come by to fill her in, but none had, and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or bad.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Annabeth couldn't help but ask "What's going on? You were gone for hours. Was it about what happened last night?"

"Annabeth," Frederick sighed a bit at the onslaught of questions, but after a moment nodded, "Yes, it was about last night. They have yet to find the escaped prisoner or his accomplices, and the king was looking for council on what to do- along with some other things. There was much he wanted to discuss."

"What other things?" Annabeth asked as Frederick went to set down the papers he was carrying on one of the tables and start looking around.

"Things that the king choices to talk with me about because he knows I won't gossip about them," Frederick replied, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes, though he wasn't looking at her to see it "Especially with my teenage daughter who has a friendship with the prince."

Annabeth wanted to press it. She wanted to know what was happening, but she knew enough to know her father probably wouldn't tell her. Or at least, there were people in the castle more likely to.

"Fine," She sighed a bit louder then normal, wanting him to know she was disappointed, but not bothering to argue. Instead she just moved to push herself up "Are you going to be here for awhile now? I should go meet Percy."

"You won't be going to help him today," Frederick seemed completely unconcerned with this information.

"What?" Annabeth looked over at him, and to her annoyance her father was still looking for his sandwich "Why not?"

"The prince is not attending any of his lessons today." Finding the sandwich, Frederick sat down to start eating "The king has more important things to discuss with him."

"What things?" Annabeth pressed, suddenly much more concerned than a few moments before. Did he somehow know that Percy was involved? Had Percy been caught? Had Leo and Jason? All questions that wanted to burst out, but that she knew she couldn't ask.

"Things that are between the king and the prince," Her father replied, in a tone that Annabeth knew was to shut down any further conversation on it "If you are anxious to get out of this dusty office I can handle things here for awhile."

Annabeth didn't even hesitate to nod in agreement "Alright."

Before her father could question her suddenly dropping the questions when she was usually stubborn about stuff like that, Annabeth was out of the office and heading towards Percy's room. Despite what her father had said, she needed to see him, needed to know what was going on.

Turning the corner she let out a slight sigh of relief. Jason was standing at his usual post outside of the door. They hadn't been caught. She hadn't sent them on a suicide mission. Whatever the king was doing was likely just because of the loss of a prisoner. Teaching Percy how to deal with that sort of situation.

As she approached, Annabeth gave him a small smile, making sure no one was around before speaking "I'm glad to see you. With all the guards around last night I was scared you wouldn't make it out."

Jason glanced around, checking to make sure they were alone as well, before answering, voice low "We wouldn't have if you hadn't sent those guards in the stable away. Thank you for that."

"It was the least I could do after the hallway," Annabeth replied, before turning her attention back to why she was there "I need to talk to Percy, make sure everything went smoothly on his end. I would love to hear how it all happened from you as well if you'd like to join us."

"Annabeth." The small smile Jason had given her fell at the mention of Percy "He's not here."

"What?" Annabeth blinked in surprise, glancing at the door before looking back at Jason "What are you doing here than?"

"I was told to stand here- pretend that he's in his room but doesn't want to see anyone," Jason replied, brow creasing a bit with concern as he spoke "As far as I know, no one has seen him since around dinner last night. At least, if they have no one has said anything."

"But- he has to be somewhere," Annabeth realized how stupid that sounded, but her head was spinning, desperate to put together the information she had and figure out where the hell he was. But there wasn't really any information to go off of. "He wouldn't have just left."

"I don't know," Jason sighed, shaking his head a bit "Everyone else is back. There was a bit of suspicion on Hazel, but Piper managed to push it away. Other than that, they seem pretty well confused about what happened. They barely even questioned me when I came back this morning with the horses."

That should have made Annabeth relax. The plan had worked, or at least they had made it work despite the issues they had. Jason had been the one most likely to be suspected of helping, and also was in the most direct danger, but here he was. Apparently no one even suspected him. Everyone was back, and safe.

Except for Percy. Where the hell was Percy? No matter how much she tried to reason that the king had simply sent him off on some mission or something, she couldn't. Something had happened, and it had happened last night.

"I'm going to go talk to Piper," Annabeth decided, nodding a bit as she did so. Honestly she had no idea what Piper could tell her that Jason wouldn't be able to, but she had to try.

Jason seemed to be about to point that out as well, but stopped himself, instead just nodding, "Alright. She's down in the garden, I'm sure she would appreciate some company."

"Thank you Jason," Annabeth nodded again at that, and was about to turn to go when she thought to add "If you hear anything or he gets back, please let me know."

"I will," Jason assured, giving her a small smile as he did so "Though I'm sure Percy will be more than happy to find you himself to let you know."

For a moment Annabeth forced herself to return the small smile, before dropping it as soon as she turned away, brain still spinning to figure out what the hell had happened.

* * *

It was clear that Annabeth was distracted. Of course, she always seemed to be at least a little distracted. From the limited experience Piper had with her however, it seemed like she was usually good at keeping that off of her face and focusing on the conversation at hand, even if part of her brain was thinking about something else. Now though, she was clearly in thought, and more than once Piper had had to say her comment multiple times before Annabeth really processed it.

Piper couldn't blame her. She had done her best to fill in the details of the night before. Everything more or less seemed to have worked out, even the parts that hadn't gone according to plan. So where the hell was Percy? The question was bothering all of them, but Annabeth the most. It was her plan, and Piper knew if anything happened she would blame herself. On top of that, it was Percy.

"We can go inside if you're not enjoying the garden," Piper offered when Annabeth once again wandered off into her own thoughts "Or if you want to be alone it's alright. I won't be offended if you just wanted to get information about what happened last night."

"No, sorry," Annabeth snapped out of it, looking over to give Piper a small smile "I want to be here, I'm just…"

"Worried about Percy," Piper supplies, smiling a bit at her in return "It's alright, I understand. I'm sure he's alright though. If he was missing the guards would be out looking for him, so the king is probably just having him stay close for now while this is dealt with."

"If that were the case why would he have Jason standing outside his door pretending he was in there?" Annabeth replied, shaking her head "Something's up. I think the king knows where he is, but for some reason he doesn't want anyone else to know."

"In that case he's probably fine," Piper reasoned, giving her a small smile again "Try to relax. If he's not back by tonight I will start going around demanding answers."

She wasn't sure it would work, the king might just lie to her about where he was but it was worth a try at least. If Annabeth had the same doubts, she didn't share and instead just nodded "Thank you."

"Of course," Piper nodded as well, not sure what else to say. Luckily Annabeth seemed content to just walk along in her thoughts again.

For the awhile they alternated between conversation and just walking in silence. Piper wanted to try and get Annabeth out of her head, but any conversation she tried to bring up seemed to die rather quickly, and honestly it wasn't always Annabeth's fault. Despite her claims that she was sure Percy was fine, Piper was worried too.


	50. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Percy had never been in the dungeons before. He wasn't completely sure why they had been left off the tour he had been given of the castle. He supposed it had to do with how dark and depressing the area was. Not exactly something that screamed: Hey! Give up your life to come live in this place, it'll be super fun!

Whatever the reason, he was getting a very close and personal look now. After the brief conversation with his friend, the guard had been quick to lead him through a side door in the castle, and down the stairs to the cells. The other prisoners had been clamoring like crazy, asking if they had caught the boy who escaped, offering information on the accomplis if they were let go, just trying to bribe the guard into letting them go too, no one would even notice. The guard had simply ignored them, removing the belt from Percy's wrists, before shoving him roughly into an empty cell.

Which was where Percy had stayed for the rest of the night, and well into the next day. For the first time since he'd come to the castle he was allowed to sleep in as late as he wanted. Unfortunately the stone floor did let to make him comfortable, and the clanging of people around him woke him up earlier then he would have liked given there was nothing to do anyway. The first thing he had done was glance at the other cells, trying to get a good look at the people inside of them.

Jason and Leo didn't appear to be in any of them, which made Percy relax a little. It was no guarantee, there were some cells he couldn't see into or they could be somewhere else, but it was something at least. And he needed to believe they had gotten away. That would make whatever his father was going to do worth it.

It wasn't until what Percy had to guess was well into the afternoon, that guards finally came to his cell. The captain was among them. As soon as they approached, Percy took a deep breath and pushed himself up, doing his best to appear as princely as possible despite his clothes and likely disheveled hair.

"Captain," Percy nodded, focusing his attention on him rather than the guards on either side. "Things finally calm down enough to warrant telling my father about my little adventure last night?"

"Seems so." He had always been a man of few words. Instead of saying anything else, he just nodded towards the door, and one of the guards moved to unlock it. "Come on, the king wants to speak with you, your highness."

When the door opened, the captain stepped back, and without prompting Percy walked out, not bothering to argue as the guards took up spots on either side of him. He wasn't going to try and run, what would be the point? It wasn't like he could just avoid the king forever.

The other prisoners were busy offering up information again, but as the guard had done earlier, the captain ignored them as they made their way out of the dungeons and back up into the main part of the castle. He didn't say anything as he lead the way through the halls, and Percy was slightly relieved with that. His nerves were higher than he wanted to admit, and his brain was busy worrying about what would happen to focus on a conversation right now.

Despite the distance the king's study was from the dungeons, it felt like they were there in an instant. Taking a deep breath, Percy looked up at the door, watching as it was opened to let the captain in, but stayed where he was in the hallway. It wasn't until the captain exited, that the door was held open for him to enter.

Poseidon was standing with his back to Percy, looking out the window. His hands were clasped behind his back, shoulders square, the picture of a perfect king. As always. Percy naturally made his way into the room and to the spot near the center where he usually stood as he waited. If he wasn't so nervous he may have been surprised to find that he naturally took the same stance as the king.

For a moment they just stood there, the room feeling almost frozen. Finally Poseidon spoke without turning around, "This is the first free moment I have had all day. I suggest you don't test my patients by lying."

Percy didn't answer. He knew what was coming, but he didn't want to speak early and give something away. He only had to wait a moment before Poseidon turned to face him "Did you have anything to do with the druid boy escaping last night?"

"Leo was the one who escaped?" Percy said, doing his best to sound surprised by it, before shrugging, "No, I had nothing to do with it."

"You expect me to believe that you happened to decide to sneak out on the same night that someone helped a prisoner escape from the dungeons?" Poseidon replied, and though he was keeping his composure, Percy could hear the frustration in his voice. "A prisoner you specifically requested I release."

"I've been sneaking in and out of the castle for months. It's not my fault that this was the first time the guards have noticed," Percy replied, looking up to meet his father's eyes as he spoke. He had decided last night that he wouldn't back down. He had no idea how Poseidon would respond to the information, but he found he didn't care.

"And where exactly have you been going on these- outings." If he wasn't so focused on keeping his kingly appearance, Percy was sure Poseidon would have been outright glaring at him now.

"To visit my mother, and occasionally my friends," Percy could feel his nerves building but he fought to keep his voice calm and his face neutral. He wouldn't be ashamed of what he had done. And he wouldn't be scared of what Poseidon might do. The secret was out. So be it. There was honesty some relief at finally getting it out in the open. "You can go ask her if you like. She will assure you that I was at her home last night."

"You disobeyed me, snuck out of the castle, and distracted one of the guards, leaving a gate unguarded, and giving a prisoner an escape route," Poseidon stated, staring down at Percy, who refused to look away "And now you stand there, acting as if you simply stole an extra helping of dessert."

"On the contrary, I assure you that I am taking this very seriously," Percy replied, glad that he had taken the time to practice this the night before "I just don't think I've done anything wrong."

"What?" That surprised Poseidon, and for a moment his composure slipped, and Percy held his breath as he waited "You disobeyed me, and you are possibly partially responsible for the escape of a prisoner."

"I only disobeyed you because you didn't follow through on your promise," Percy replied evenly, slight anger starting to build up now, but he tried to push it down. "When I agreed to this you told me I would be allowed to see my mother. It's been seven months, and you reject the idea every time I ask. I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"You are not a commoner anymore Perseus, you are a prince. You can't just do whatever you want. You're decisions have consequences, ones that could impact the safety and stability of an entire kingdom." There was a rise in Poseidon's voice, frustration clear.

"Visiting my mother does not put the country in danger," Percy replied evenly, his voice rising with Poseidon's.

"You may have left a gate unguarded for a dangerous criminal escape through," Poseidon sounded more angry now, though frustration was still the main emotion.

"Leo isn't dangerous. He's a kid, younger than I am," Percy's hands had fallen to his side at some point, and he found himself clenching them a bit now "I didn't help him escape but I can't bring myself to be disappointed that he did. You shouldn't have been holding him to start with."

"There are things you don't understand. You're still new to all of this."

"I understand perfectly," Percy replied, and he was fairly sure he was glaring at this point "Just like I understand that when you sent me to watch guards murder people in the woods it had nothing to do with them trespassing on your land."

"Being king comes with making hard decisions, and sometimes those decisions end with people dying," Poseidon's eyes were stormy, but unlike when Annabeth's got that way, it was clearly because of anger rather than thinking. Like a sea about to capsize a boat. "It is something you'll have to get used to."

"You didn't send soldiers off on a failed mission, or accidentally send a ship off in a storm," Percy couldn't believe how unphased he appeared by this. As if what had happened really didn't bother him. "You sent guards to kill innocent people. It wasn't a bad decision, it was an attack on defenseless people."

"That's part of being king."

"That's not the kind of king I am going to be."

The words left Percy's mouth before he could even think about them, but he found he didn't regret it. They were true. He wasn't going to rule the way Poseidon did, and for the first time he found he didn't care what Poseidon thought about it. If he didn't like it, to bad. It was also the first time he had said he would be king and not felt a twinge of doubt about it.

The comment seemed to give Poseidon pause, and for a long moment they just stood there. Percy took deep breaths, still refusing to break his eyes away from the king, sure at any moment that he was going to call the guards back in to escort him out of the castle. That he was going to be told this experiment was over and sent home. So be it. Until that happened, he would be a prince and act accordingly.

Finally Poseidon took a deep breath, straightening his back. The anger and frustration had mostly left his face, and there was another look there, one that Percy didn't recognize. The calm before the storm. Any second the guards would be ordered in again to show him out. Percy's hands relaxed and he squared his shoulders again, head high as he waited for it.

"You are free to return to your room."

The words were remarkably calm, especially after what had just occurred. Surprised, Percy didn't move, waiting for Poseidon to add something about gathering his things to leave. Instead the man just finished the thought with "Or I believe Princess Piper is in the garden if you wish to join her. Your lessons were canceled for the day, so spend it as you wish. I will see you at dinner."

And just like that it was over. There was still tension in the room, but not nearly as much as there had been before. Percy was still a prince, and Poseidon was merely waiting for him to leave. He wasn't even being confined to his chambers like he had been expecting. He was just free to go.

Percy looked over at the king for one more moment, before nodding "I will see you at dinner."

Then he turned on his heel, and walked out of the room, past the guards. It wasn't until he was several hallways away that he finally felt himself starting to relax.


	51. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

They were nearing the entrance of the garden again, and Piper was debating if they should turn to keep walking or if she should make the decision to go back to the castle. Conversation had fizzled out again, and she honestly couldn't tell if Annabeth was enjoying the walk or just staying because she felt like she should. Piper was pretty sure it was the former, but not positive.

She had just made the decision that it was probably best to keep Annabeth at least a little distracted and keep walking, when she heard someone around the corner. A second later, Percy was walking towards them, breaking into a grin.

Relief passed through Piper, who hadn't really realize how worried she was until it was gone. Letting out a breath, she found herself smiling as well, but Percy wasn't looking at her.

Glancing over she saw that Annabeth's face had relaxed, the thoughtful expression that had been there the whole day replaced with one of relief. She looked at him for just a moment, before she had walked forward and pulled him into a hug. There was slight surprise, then a soft smile replaced the grin Percy had been wearing and he hugged her back.

"Where the hell have you been?" Despite the obvious attempt to be teasing, Annabeth's voice was softer than usual, the relief clear in her voice. Piper couldn't help but smile as she watched them.

"Mostly sitting around in the dungeon waiting for something to happen," Percy replied, but he was still smiling even as he said it "It's a sort of long story."

Annabeth pulled away and there was a shift from relief back to concern "The dungeon? So you were caught? The king found out?"

"He found out that I've been sneaking out of the castle, yeah, but not about trying to help Leo," Percy assured, the smile never wavering as he stepped back "Don't worry. He yelled, but other than that he didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry," Piper finally spoke up, stepping slightly forward "Leo and Jason didn't even end up using that gate to get out. They snuck out through the forge, so distracting the guard ended up being pointless, and brought your trips into town to the king's attention."

"It's alright," Percy shrugged, seeming completely unconcerned "Like I said, he didn't do much other than yell, and we actually end up talking about some things that probably should have been addressed a while ago."

Annabeth looked over at him curiously, but didn't press. Instead she just nodded and took another step back, "We should go back to your room. Jason is waiting there- we can piece together most of what happened last night."

Piper nodded in agreement. Though her curiosity at the actual events of the night before was likely nothing compared to Annabeth's, who was both a more curious person in general and had a vested interest in how well the plan had gone, she was still curious "Frank and Hazel are both busy, but I know what happened on Hazel's end of things, and I'm sure Jason has at least some information on Frank."

"Alright," Percy agreed, nodding and smiling at each of them in turn, before turning to lead the way back out of the garden and towards the castle.

* * *

"What are you doing in here at this time of day?" Hazel asked, moving to lean against the door of the stall that Frank was currently standing in. She had visited him a few times in the stable since coming to the castle, but this was the first time she had ever seen him actually cleaning out a stall. This was particularly obvious since all of the horses were out being exercised, leaving him as the only person there.

Frank looked up with surprise, before smiling when he saw Hazel. He moved to set the pitchfork he had been using against the wall, "What does it look like I'm doing? Someone has to clean out the stalls while the horses are being exercised."

"Right, but aren't you usually out there helping exercise them rather than being stuck in here cleaning?" Hazel asked in confusion, leaning on the door as she did so.

"Usually," Frank agreed, nodding a bit at that "But I'm on probation because of last night. I technically didn't get permission to take the horses, which wouldn't be a big deal except for them getting 'stolen'. The king is putting pressure for something to be done, so here I am. I'm sure it'll blow over in a couple of days."

"Oh-" Hazel sighed a bit as she heard that, glancing around for a second, not sure what to say.

"It's okay," Frank assured, smiling at her and shrugging, "It's really not that big of a deal. So I'm stuck in here for a few days. At least the plan more or less worked. Plus, my boss calmed down a lot when Jason returned with the 'found' horses. It'll be back to normal in a few days. They can't afford to keep me in here forever."

"Still, I know how much you like being around the horses."

Frank just shrugged again, speaking before Hazel could really fully process the thoughts she was having "I'm still around the horses, just in a slightly less fun way."

"You risked a lot, especially helping even after you knew the guards were out and about and you were more likely to get caught." Hazel looked over at him with a mix of curiosity and admiration. This was a side of Frank she had never had the opportunity to see before. Had never really thought about before "And you don't even like him that much."

"It doesn't really matter what I personally thought about him," Frank replied simply, as if it weren't that important "He didn't deserve what was happening to him, he wasn't a bad guy, even if I had some issues with his work ethic. It wasn't fair and I was in a position to do something about it, so it was my responsibility to."

He said it all almost nonchalantly. As if he really hadn't done anything special, anything more than anyone else would do. He had just done the right thing, no need to be thanked for or make a big deal out of it. Frank honestly believed that.

Hazel couldn't help but smile as she looked over at him for a long moment before speaking "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Frank walked over to the door of the stall now as well, leaning on the wall closer to her rather than on the opposite side of the stall "I was just doing the same thing anyone else would have."

"You're wrong, most people wouldn't have helped, especially not when things got more dangerous," Hazel replied, tilting her head up slightly so she could continue to look him in the eye as she spoke "You're a good man, Frank Zhang."

Frank just shrugged, and though he was trying to play it off as no big deal, Hazel could see the smile he had been giving her grow bigger at her words. After a second he raised an eyebrow at her "Good enough to take you on another small outing when I'm allowed to borrow the horses again?"

That hadn't been why he'd done any of this. Frank's reaction before made it clear that he really had helped because he thought it was the right thing to do, not to try and win her over. This was just a cheesy way of asking her to go riding with him again, since the opportunity had presented itself, it hadn't been the ending plan.

Hazel smiled as she looked up at him "I would like that."


	52. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Percy couldn't stand still. To be fair he had never been good at sitting or standing still, but right now it wasn't just hard, he couldn't do it. So instead he was pacing around the room, trying to calm down his thoughts and nerves.

It had been four days since Leo's escape, and things were finally starting to calm down and go back to normal. At least more or less. Poseidon was still acting odd around him, and the guards were on higher alert than usual, but Percy couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.

The conversation with his mother had brought up thoughts that had been circling in his head ever sense. He had done his best to push them away and focus, and that had been fairly easy when he was being chased through the woods, but once he was tossed in a cell with literally nothing to do but think for hours, they had quickly overtaken him and refused to go away until he'd gone over all of them. They kept coming until he finally came to a decision, and the conversation with Poseidon had wiped away any lingering doubts he'd had.

For four days Percy had been thinking and rethinking the best way to do this. There had been several times he had found himself muttering different phrases under his breath and imagining what Annabeth's response would be. It had taken a lot for him not to just start talking about it as soon as he saw Annabeth over the last few days, but he had pushed it away. Things needed to calm down first, at least a little bit. Now that they had, he couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.

When the door opened, Percy actually jumped a bit with his nerves and anxiety so high. Jason was of course standing there, and he could see Annabeth standing behind him. "Annabeth is here to help with your lessons."

"Thank you Jason," Percy nodded, not missing the slight smirk that was playing on Jason's lips. They both knew he hadn't had any lessons for the last few days. He was sure they would pick up again in the next day or two once everything else was finished calming down. Despite that, Annabeth had continued to show up. "You don't have to stand outside my door all day you know. I'm sure I'm perfectly safe in my room, especially well Annabeth's here. She's pretty tough."

His voice was teasing despite the truth in it. The comment just made her smirk "Tough enough to take you."

"I'm sure you are," Percy replied, laughing a bit, mostly out of nerves, before looking back over at Jason again "Anyway, point is you must be bored out of your mind, and for no real reason."

"I am," Jason assured, stepping aside to let Annabeth enter the room "Unfortunately I'm under strict orders to stay here. Everyone is still a bit on alert, and while I don't doubt Annabeth's abilities, I don't think my captain would be as understanding when he heard that's the reason I left."

"Fair enough," Percy nodded to him. Jason just smiled at him and nodded in return, before moving to close the door behind Annabeth, leaving them alone.

"Your father is really concerned about your safety, huh?" Annabeth teased as she walked over to his desk to start looking over the papers that were there.

"Or he's really concerned about making sure I can't sneak out again," Percy shrugged in response "If that's the extent of what he does about it I can live with it."

"Fair enough," Annabeth agreed, continuing to shift through papers, "Have your lessons started back up again? We should probably still go over some stuff even if they haven't. Can't have everything escaping from your brain before the do."

"No they haven't," Percy tried to push down the nerves that were still playing through him "And I was actually sort of hoping to talk to you about something."

"Sure," Annabeth went over to sit on the edge of his bed, seemingly unconcerned. After a moment though, she leaned back on her hands and tilted her head, looking at him more curiously. Percy had no doubt she had finally picked up on the nerves and anxiety he was trying, but probably failing, to hide. "You alright Perce?"

"I'm fine- I've just been thinking," Percy wanted to keep pacing, but it felt more natural to go over and sit on the edge of the bed as well. He took a deep breath, before letting it out and looking back at Annabeth "About what you said that night in the barn. How there were consequences to my decision to become a prince that I hadn't thought about, but over the last few weeks I've been thinking through what the results were. Firstly I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would effect you, or really anyone other than me and my mom. It wasn't fair of me."

"Percy," Annabeth sighed a bit as she heard that, and Percy was scared she was going to shut this down like she had before, but to his relief she nodded "Thank you, but you don't have to apologize. It was your choice to make, and you made it."

"And I was wrong," Percy replied, looking over to meet Annabeth's eyes, and for a long moment they just looked at each other before he spoke again "I've thought through it properly now, and I made the wrong decision, and now I want to try and make it right."

For a moment Annabeth just looked at him, and Percy could see the confusion on her face, the way her brain was working to figure this all out. The way the gray of her eyes seemed to almost be moving with her thoughts. Than she shook her head, and when she spoke she didn't sound angry. It was closer to tired "What are you talking about Percy?"

"I'm talking about us- I choose being a prince over you, and I'm sorry. I didn't realize at the time that's what I was doing, and if I had I would have chosen differently," Percy explained trying to catch her eye again "So now I'm choosing you, if you'll have me."

Annabeth's eyes searched his face, before shaking her head and pushing herself up to start passing the room "It's not that simple Percy. You already agreed to being a prince- you can't just back out."

"Why not?" Percy asked, watching her as she started to pace, but not getting up himself. She was thinking, and he took that as a rather hopeful sign "Less than a year ago there wasn't a prince, I'm sure the kingdom will be just fine without me."

"But you won't be," Annabeth stopped to look at him for a moment "Despite everything, all the claims you made that you didn't want this, you do want to continue being a prince. You want to be king someday, if for no other reason than you want to be able to help people."

"You're right," Percy agreed, nodding a bit "Over the last few weeks something changed, this isn't just about making sure my mom is looked after anymore. I want to be king. I want to help people, especially after what happened with the druids and Leo."

He wasn't really sure when the transition had happened. So much had happened over the last few weeks, so many things that he had felt powerless to control but also a need to try and fix. It was only when he had gotten in the argument with Poseidon that he realized, for the first time, that he did want to be king. That the idea, while still daunting, no longer terrified him as much as it had just a month before. But there had also been a moment during that conversation where he had thought he would be stripped of his title, and he had found that he hadn't been disappointed by that idea either.

"But I also want to be happy, and I won't be if I'm not with you," Percy finally pushed himself up. Annabeth had stopped pacing and was just looking at him as he took a step towards her. Her eyes were stormy, her thoughts likely flying a mile a minute, but her face gave away very little of what those thoughts were "So, I'm choosing you, if you'll have me, even if that means giving up being a prince."

There was a pause, and Percy found himself holding his breath as he waited for Annabeth to respond. There was nothing more for him to say, at least not without hearing a reply from her first.

Slowly, Annabeth stepped towards him, reaching forward to take one of his hands in her's and squeeze it. Looking down, his eyes met hers' for a long moment. "Are you sure Percy? Completely sure? Because I can't lose someone I care about again."

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life," Percy replied, squeezing her hand in return and giving her a small smile "I want to be with you Annabeth Chase, regardless of the situation surrounding it."

Annabeth didn't respond. Instead she just gave him a small smile as well, before pushing herself up to kiss him. It wasn't like the subtle secret kiss they had shared in the barn, it was much more than that, and this time neither of them pulled away. They just stayed there for a long moment, before they naturally came part, both of them grinning.

"I love you," Percy said before he even thought about it, still smiling as he looked down at her. He knew that was probably to quick, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. It was true, and besides, this was Annabeth. If anything, it felt like something he had been holding back from saying for far to long.

There was only a second of hesitation, before Annabeth squeezed his hand again "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

Warmth and joy moved through Percy at the words. In that moment, he couldn't remember ever having been happier. Still grinning, he reached up and pushed some of the hair that had fallen loose out of her face "So, Wise Girl, I guess it's your turn to make a choice."

"What's that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at him, but even as she did, Annabeth was still smiling. Her eyes, which normally seemed to be full of movement, were remarkably calm.

"Do you want to be queen someday?"


	53. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

For six days after Jason was under strict orders not to leave Percy's side. Or well, to stand outside the door of whatever room he was in. Percy himself had kept insisting that he didn't have to, but Jason wasn't really in a position where he wanted to annoy his captain. No one suspected that he had had anything to do with Leo, believing that he had spent the night at the church, as he sometimes did, and found the horses in the woods on his way back the next day. However, Jason was still eager to not have the captain on his back, just in case he wasn't as in the clear as he thought he was.

So for six days, Jason stood guard. Occasionally, when he got so bored he couldn't really take it anymore, he would slip into Percy's room to talk with him if he was free. Percy had told him that was okay, that he usually even appreciated it, but Jason still tried to keep it to a minimum.

Security had finally relaxed enough that he didn't have to waste most of the day standing outside Percy's door, which meant he was back to having a lot more down time. It was remarkable how much free time came along with being the prince's personal guard. At least, when the prince was someone like Percy who would rather not be guarded at all if he had it his way.

Jason wasn't about to protest the down time. The only issue was, he didn't know what to do with it now. It was Wednesday, which meant he probably would have been able to slip Leo away for awhile to hang out. Especially since he needed something to distract his thoughts. Leo was always good at that.

Except Leo wasn't there. That was the problem.

Sighing, Jason started to make his way through the castle, and after a little while found that really there was only one place he wanted to go. Or, more specifically, one person he wanted to be around other than Leo.

It wasn't a surprise to find a guard standing outside Piper's door. Even though things had started to relax, the king had always seemed more worried about Piper's safety than his son's, and since he had no idea that she'd had anything to do with Leo's disappearance, but seemed to suspect Percy had even if it couldn't be proven, it made sense he would be keeping closer guard of her.

"Hey," Jason smiled as he approached, lifting his hand to wave at the guard.

"Hey," He agreed, looking over at Jason "Are you here to relieve me?"

"Possibly," Jason replied, shrugging a bit "Depends what the princess says when I talk to her. Mind asking if she is free and willing to see me?"

The guard eyed him for a moment, but not about to pass up the opportunity to possibly get off door duty, nodded "Alright."

The man disappeared, and about a minute later the door was being held open for Jason. Smiling at him, Jason nodded to the guard as he entered, waiting for him to exit and the door to close before looking over at Piper, still smiling.

"Jason," Piper smiled at him in return. She was standing near her desk, where Jason assumed she had been sitting prior to the interruption "What can I help you with?"

She seemed surprised, and really Jason couldn't blame her for that. This was the first time he had come to her rather than the other way around. It wasn't that Jason thought Piper would mind, but because Jason had so far not found it appropriate to do so. It was easier for Piper to find an excuse, claiming she needed a guard to accompany her, and it made sense that she would ask Jason giving his position. It was a lot harder for Jason to find an excuse to ask Piper to accompany him somewhere.

"I was wondering- I have the afternoon off and I've been stuck in the castle for the last week, and could use some time outside. I figured since you've been stuck in here as well you would probably like a bit of an escape too-" Jason realized he was rambling and quickly finished with "So I thought I'd come and see if you anted to join me."

Piper was smiling even as Jason rambled, and when he was done she nodded "I would like that very much, but I'm not sure Poseidon would be comfortable with me wandering around again yet."

"Percy's guard has been lifted, so I'm sure I could talk the captain into loosening yours as well, especially if you will still be under guard while out for the walk," Jason shrugged "And since I'm going to be there anyway, that shouldn't be an issue."

"You want to spend your day off guarding me?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow at him again, and if Jason wasn't wrong he caught a hint of teasing in her voice.

"What can I say, I like my job," Jason teased in return, before just smiling at her again "Truth is, I could use some company. Conversation helps take my mind off of- well everything."

"Alright," Piper nodded, smiling softly and to Jason's relief not pushing what he meant "Then I would love to go for a walk with you."

Jason quickly nodded a bit in return "I'll go talk to the captain. Hopefully I will be back soon."


	54. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth stopped her pacing and looked at the door again. She needed to just do it already. If nerves didn't keep stopping her this whole situation would already be taken care of. It had been a long time since she had been this nervous. Maybe she should have taken Percy up on his offer to come with her. To late now. Besides, it was probably best to do this by herself.

Time was running short. She needed to get it done tonight, and if she didn't knock soon her father would be on his way to bed and dealing with him when he wanted to be asleep was probably the opposite of helpful. So, despite the pacing having done almost nothing to calm her nerves, Annabeth took a quick step forward, and raised her hand, forcing herself to knock.

Stepping back she started to fiddle with her sleeve, trying to channel her nerves as she waited. It was about a minute before she finally got a response "Come in."

Another deep breath later, Annabeth was on the inside of the office, the door closing behind her with a soft thunk. Her father looked up in surprise, raising an eyebrow "Annabeth? Can I help with you something?"

"Yes." Part of her brain was nagging her, telling her she shouldn't be bothering him. But those were her step-mother's words, and she wasn't there. It was just her and her dad, and this was too important to leave till later "I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm a little busy at the moment," Frederick was already looking down at his papers again as he spoke.

"You're always busy." The response came out before Annabeth could really think about it. Shaking her head she quickly added "It's important, dad."

"Annabeth," He sighed in the all to familiar way, the one that usually got her to step back and wait till later to ask her question "I'm sure that whatever it is can wait. We can talk about it on the way to the castle tomorrow."

"No."

The response surprised Frederick enough to make him look up from what he was doing again, and letting out a breath, Annabeth looked back at him "Dad, please. I need to talk to you, it's important, and it has to happen now."

For a moment Annabeth was scared he would ignore her or just brush it off again. Instead, he finished the sentence he had been writing, before setting down the pen and focusing on her "Would you like to sit down to share this very important information?"

Annabeth wasn't sure that she did, but she grabbed the extra chair from the corner of the room anyway and brought it over to sit on the opposite side of the desk from him. This was partly to buy herself time, partly because she knew pacing back and forth while talking probably wouldn't help anything. However, buying time did nothing, and her nerves were still going crazy when she sat down. _Just do it Annabeth. _"I know you and Andrea have been talking about finding a suitable person for me to marry, if not right away than with in the next couple of years."

Frederick raised an eyebrow slightly, but that was the only sign of surprise he gave "I take it we haven't been as quite with our conversations as we thought we were being?"

"That, and Andrea's been taking me around for tea with eligible men since I was fourteen, and I'm smart enough to put two and two together about what was happening," Annabeth shrugged, trying to act like it really didn't bother her. Getting emotional about it right now wouldn't help her case.

"I'm sorry, I should have talked about it with you before you discovered it on your own, but you also had to have been expecting this to happen soon." Despite the second half of the comment, Annabeth really did get the feeling that he was sorry he hadn't talked to her about it. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part. "I take it you have some thoughts on the matter?"

"I wish you would have actually talked to me about it, but that's not the point now." There was no point trying to argue against it at this point. The damage was done. Besides, even if Annabeth hadn't put it together it wouldn't have been surprising information. They weren't noble, but Andrea liked to act like they were. "The point now is, I believe I have a solution that will make all three of us happy."

"Annabeth I don't think-"

"Just listen," Annabeth interrupted. She probably should have just let him speak, but she needed to get through this before she lost her nerve "Percy has asked to court me. He wanted to ask you himself, but I convinced him it would be better if I did it."

"Annabeth-" and there was the sigh that she knew all too well. The one that usually meant he was tired of her questions or her logic didn't make sense "It won't work. I know you and Percy are close, but you can't be courted by him."

"He is going to talk to his father on Friday, and he has faith he can get him to agree," Annabeth pushed past the objection "It works for all of us. What more of a status bump could Andrea get? The twins will be able to become knights, or whatever they decide they want to be when they're older than seven. You get to know you will always have a place at court and the resources to work on your projects, and I am with someone that I actually care about and I want to be with."

"It won't work Annabeth, the king will never agree," Frederick insisted as he looked over at her, and Annabeth decided not to mention that it didn't really matter if the king agreed or not. If Poseidon really did refuse to let them, than the plan was to leave. Which could make this whole conversation pointless, but they had agreed it would be best to have everything else already figured out before talking to the king, and that included getting her father on board.

"Let Percy worry about that. He has an argument prepared that he thinks will convince him," Annabeth replied simply "Right now, what I need is your blessing. Percy will ask you for it himself I'm sure, but I convinced him that it would be better if I did it at first and he waited until after he had talked to his father."

"You're probably right," Frederick agreed, though he sounded rather lost in thought, as if the comments about Percy were an afterthought and not all that relevant to what was happening. Then he sighed again, though this one was a real sigh, not the one he usually gave her "I'm sorry, but I can't give you my blessing, and it wouldn't be proper for him to court you. Regardless of what the king decides, you can't marry him."

"What?" Annabeth blinked in surprise at how completely he had shut it down, even if the king did agree "Why not? I mean, I know you don't like Percy, but he's the crown prince. Surely that overrules your personal feelings about him."

"Believe me, I wish I could say yes, but I can't," he shook his head, and as he did so a feeling of slight dread came over her. He couldn't. There was really only one reason he _couldn't_. Surely he wouldn't have done that without at least talking to her first though, right?

"Why can't you?" Annabeth asked, slight angre raising in her voice now, her brain already filling in what the reason had to be before he said it.

"Annabeth, please, try to stay calm," Frederick replied, though there wasn't a ton of authority in it. For once he knew her anger was justified. "While you've been meeting with Luke, Andrea has been having meetings with his benefactor, and working out details. When she approached me with it most of the details had already been worked out. It was a good agreement, and I know you and Luke are friends so I assumed you would be happy with it-"

"So you were going to marry me off without even talking to me about it?" Now she was actually glad for the anger in her voice as it hid the pain she could feel building "Were you planning to tell me before we arrived at the church?"

"Of course. It won't be for at least a year. Plenty of time for you and Luke to continue to reconnect and grow more fond of each other and still propose the idea to you." Even as he tried to reason it though, she could hear he was floundering. It caught Annabeth by surprise. It was the first time she'd ever seen him know so clearly that he was in the wrong.

"I will never be 'fond' of Luke Castellan," Annabeth replied, almost disgusted with the idea "I am polite when I am with him, but I don't even like him, let alone want to spend time with him for more than an afternoon tea twice a month."

Her father's face paled a bit as he listened to her speak, and it was clear she had caught him off guard with the comment "I'm sorry Annabeth. I knew you were friends when you were younger- the two of you and that girl- Thalia? You three were always running around together- and than Andrea said you two were fond of each other so I just figured-"

"Well maybe you should try talking to me about who I'm fond of instead of a woman who's never shown the slightest bit of interest in my life outside of ways I can help her." Annabeth's hands clenched on her lap, and to her surprise her father didn't rise at the comment about her step-mother "So whatever you've done, undo it."

Shaking his head, Frederick looked down "I can't. I already met with Luke and the agreement had already been drawn up when I got there. It seemed like everything was in order-"

"You signed away my life without even talking to me about it first?" Annabeth looked at him with complete disbelief. Her step-mother manipulating her life to suit her purposes without talking to her about it, that she expected, but her father? They weren't close, but she thought he respected her enough to at least tell her it was happening.

"Call it off- burn the paper you signed. Something, because there is no way in hell that I'm going to marry him," Annabeth said, hoping the anger was still managing to mask the desperation and hurt from her voice "If you're sorry, then make it right."

"I can burn my copy of it, but Luke also has one, and the officiator." This time her father didn't try to justify what he had done. Instead he just looked up at her, face stricken, eyes shiny. If she wasn't so angry it would have made her heart drop to see the clear pain on his face. "I'm sorry, Annie."

The nickname struck her. It had been a long time since he had used it. Even when she was little her father had almost always called her by her full name. The twins sometimes used it, and Percy occasionally used it to tease her, but that was different than hearing it from her father. The affection it held even in this moment.

Annabeth pushed herself up. Turning away from him she walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her. Immediately she headed to the front door, not bothering to grab her coat as she left. That door slammed shut as well.


	55. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

"Excuse me your highness, but Prince Perseus is here and would like to speak with you."

Piper had looked up from her book when she heard the door open, and at the end of the statement she set it aside to push herself up "Of course, please let him in."

While the guard turned back to the door, Piper merely smoothed down her skirt and stayed near the couch where she had been sitting. She assumed that her and Percy would end up there anyway, so it seemed rather pointless to walk over to greet him. A moment later Percy was entering the room and Piper was smiling at him "Percy, it's nice to see you. To what do I owe the visit?"

Percy glanced over his shoulder, making sure the door was closed, and causing Piper to raise an eyebrow. What could he be planning to say that required making sure the door was firmly closed? Was it some news about Leo that is father had just shared with him?

"I need to talk to you about something," Percy replied when he looked back at her, and Piper realized that he was nervous. More nervous than Piper had seen him since that first afternoon in the throne room.

"I figured as much," Piper kept her voice neutral, though she was still looking at him curiously "Is this a quick standing up conversation, or should we sit down?"

"Sitting would probably be best," Percy agreed, giving her a small smile, before moving over to the sitting area. He hesitated for a moment, debating where to sit, before moving to the couch. He sat near one of the edges, and turned his body slightly so he could face the other.

"What is it Percy?" Piper asked gently, moving to take her original seat on the couch, near the end where Percy wasn't sitting, but turning a bit as well so that she was facing him better. It was clear that he was still nervous, his eyes focused on his hands rather than looking up at her.

For a long moment Percy still didn't answer, and Piper was just starting to wonder if she should prompt him again when he finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes just long enough to say "I can't marry you."

Piper blinked in surprise. Of course, she knew the whole point of her being there was because her and Percy were supposed to be getting to know, and hopefully falling in love with, each other. That regardless of if they did or not, eventually they were supposed to get married. But with everything else that had been going on around them, it had been easy to ignore that point. To let it slip to the back of her brain and only come up when Poseidon was trying to push them together.

"You can't," Piper repeated, looking at him with slight surprise. Not because she thought they were in love or anything like that. Their relationship was firmly friendship, and if it wasn't for their parents it was likely that the idea of marriage wouldn't have crossed either of their minds. The way he said it was what surprised her, with such finality in the decision. Not that he didn't want to, but that he _couldn't._

"I can't," Percy sighed, but seeming a little more relaxed now that he had gotten the initial comment out pressed on. "I"m sorry, but I can't. I've been thinking about a lot of things recently, especially the decision I made to become the prince. I jumped into it without fully thinking. Now that I have thought it through, I've realized that I do still want to be a prince, but there are things I want more. And while I like spending time with you, and hope that our friendship continues, I can not continue to court you."

Piper just looked him over, taking in the change that had seemed to come over him. Her face and voice softened. "Annabeth."

There wasn't any anger, or hurt, or jealousy. To Piper's slight surprise she didn't feel any of those things. She liked Percy and thought they could be happy together, but they weren't in love. And she had seen the way Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and interacted. Heard the way they talked with and about each other. It was obvious how much they each cared for the other, in a way Piper doubted she and Percy ever would.

"Yes," Percy admitted after a moment of hesitation "I mean, there's more to it than just that, but yes she is a large part of it. I'm going to start courting her instead. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Percy," Piper assured, still giving him a small smile to try and assure him it really was "I understand, and I'm not upset. I won't lie, you are the best suiter I've met so far, but it's not as if I've fallen desperately in love with you."

"Obviously I need to work on my charm," Percy teased, and even if it was half-hearted it made Piper smile a bit more. Then he looked up to give her a small, but true, smile. "Thank you Piper, I know your parents will likely be upset, but I promise I will do everything in my power to ensure they are compensated for the arrangement being called off."

Piper looked over at him for a long moment. There was something different about him, about the way he spoke. She realized after a moment that he was no longer trying to force his mouth to use the formal accent of nobles. Silently she wondered if it was just because he was finally comfortable enough with her to let it go, or something else.

"They will be disappointed, but if I'm being honest it was always rather odd that your father wanted this arrangement to begin with. Our kingdom is small, it was more likely I would end up marrying a high ranking lord then a prince. In retrospect it was likely that he made the arrangement under the assumption that when me and my parents discovered who your mother is we wouldn't pull out," Piper felt a little bad about saying the last part, but it was true. The fact that he was a bastard would likely scare off families from many of the larger kingdoms. Her parents would be disappointed with this news, especially her mother, but they would live "But Percy, I hate to say it, but your father will never agree to call it off in order to let you court Annabeth instead-"

"He won't like the idea, but he'll just have to decide if he wants an heir that is actually related to him or if he'd rather just pick one of his lords to pass the crown on to," Percy replied, and Piper could see the determination on his face. He had made a decision, and no one would talk him out of it "Either way, I'm going to be with Annabeth."

Slowly, Piper nodded, looking over at him for a moment and giving him a small smile "Then I wish you the best of luck, and for what it's worth I hope you can convince your father."


	56. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

It had been a week, and Frank was still stuck on stable duty, though he was optimistic that it would be over soon. People were still coming to ask him for advice with animals, including the horses. Even if they did keep him in the stables indefinitely, Frank couldn't bring himself to be completely disappointed. He was still around the horses, but mostly it was because Hazel had taken to spending part of her day in there with him.

From what he understood, Hazel had stood up for herself to Miss Dodds, and as a result the woman had decided she wouldn't give Hazel anything to do. Something about if Hazel wasn't on her staff than she shouldn't be helping. Whatever the details, Hazel now only had her duties to Piper and a lot of free time, which she often occupied with him in the stable.

About half the time Hazel helped him with whatever task he was doing, and half the time Frank managed to convince her to just relax while he worked. Now they were sitting in one of the backrooms, and despite Frank's protests Hazel was helping him clean off some of the gear. They had fallen into a rather quite stretch, which Frank didn't really mind. It wasn't an awkward silence, just the two of them sitting together and working.

However, as Frank finished off the bridal he was cleaning, he glanced up and noticed that Hazel had stopped working. Instead she had pulled her sleeve up and was looking at her wrist. At the mark burned into the skin.

Frowning a bit, Frank set down the bridle "Are you alright?"

"What?" Hazel blinked a bit with surprise as she looked up, before quickly nodding "Of course, sorry I was just thinking-"

"It's alright," Frank assured, giving her a small smile "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing," Hazel said, probably a little to quickly, and her hand pulled the sleeve of her dress down over the scar on her wrist "I mean, nothing interesting just…"

She trailed off, and Frank continued to give her a small smile as he picked up what he assumed she had been about to say "About Leo?"

"No," Hazel replied, taking Frank by surprise. When he saw her look at the scar he assumed it had to be about the other boy, what else would it be? "Well, a bit, but in a broader sense than just Leo."

Frank looked over at her curiously, trying to understand what she meant, but finding he didn't "What do you mean broader sense?"

"I mean-" Hazel sighed, and Frank could tell she was wrestling with if she should be saying this or not. Her hand rubbed at her wrist, even though the fabric was over the mark now. After a moment she finally continued "Thinking about druids in general, and the group my mother was a part of- that I was a part of."

Slowly Frank nodded. For a moment he wasn't sure what to say, then settled on, "What about them? I mean, you said you don't even really remember them, right? And what you said about your mom-"

"I know," Hazel nodded slightly, finally looking at Frank properly "But she was still my mom, and even if I don't really remember them, those were the people that took care of me until I was six..."

"And?" Frank prompted gently when she trailed off again. She was still hesitant to be talking about this, which made sense. Hazel had been not talking or thinking about it for years from what he understood, and the circumstances surrounding talking about it now were less than friendly. Knowing that she trusted him enough to be talking about it made him incredibly happy, and Frank felt the need to encourage her to keep talking. To prove that he didn't just not mind hearing about it, that he wanted her to tell him. If she wanted to of course, which it seemed like she did.

"And- after what happened to Leo, and hearing how much the druids had done for him, and meeting some of them, I've started to feel guilty about how adamant and quick I've been to claim I'm not one," Hazel glanced up at him, he he could tell she was trying to read his reaction.

"It's not your fault-" The reply was more awkward then Frank would have liked, but he wasn't completely sure if he was actually reassuring her of the right thing "I mean, you saw what happened to Leo. Telling people is really dangerous."

"I'm not really talking about other people. I know just telling people would be dangerous. But even when people do find out, like you or even Piper, I admit that it's a druid marking, but I'm always adamant that I'm not one," Hazel's eyes had darted away from him again, hand rubbing at her wrist "And- I've spent a lot of time denying it to myself, convincing myself that I wasn't a druid."

"Like you said, you barely remember that part of your life," Frank tried again to reassure her, though he was still a bit lost "You shouldn't have to be tied to a part of your life you don't even remember."

"I am though. This mark means that I am. It means I'm a druid, and that's the way people will see me as soon as they know it's there. I can't just ignore it for the rest of my life," Hazel hesitated, taking a deep breath "And I'm not sure I want to ignore it. It's a part of me, and I think I want to learn more about it."

For a long moment Frank just looked over at her, making sure she was done, and not sure what to say in response. Hazel didn't say anything either, seemingly waiting to see what his response would be. One look told Frank she was nervous about it.

"Okay," Frank finally said, a little awkwardly as he looked over at her "How do you do that? Learn more about it I mean."

"I'm not really sure," Hazel admitted, seeming slightly relieved "It's just something I've been thinking about lately, I don't have any plans for it yet or anything."

"Right," Frank nodded in agreement, giving her a small smile "Well, if you do come to any conclusions and there is a way I can help, let me know."

"I will," Hazel assured, returning the small smile as she looked over at him "Thank you Frank."

"Of course," He shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal despite the swell of warmth he felt at having apparently said the right thing, and being able to listen even if he didn't fully understand. "It's the last I can do after all the help you've been giving me over the last week."

"Then I suppose I should get back to it," Hazel teased, moving to pick up the towel she'd set down.

"I suppose you should," Frank teased in return, though he spent another moment just smiling over at her, before finally going back to his own work.


End file.
